fate intertwined
by Thinkinglikehalfabrain
Summary: Charlotte Weasley, 2nd eldest Weasley child,comes to hogwarts as a trainee as a part of her healer education. The subject? Potions. Can the Weasley girl and The bat of the dungeon get along? Or is it a doomed arrangement, which will end in catastrophe?
1. Chapter 1

It was morning, early morning. Ron was still sleeping – with his mouth open, snoring loudly in the bed next to Harry's bed. Harry tried to get back to sleep again, but the past events of the week seemed to haunt him. He got up from the bed, and soundlessly walked out of the room. It seemed all of the Weasleys were asleep, as no sound in the house could be heard – very unnatural, as the infamous troublemakers Fred and George Weasley lives there.

But when he came down into the kitchen, he saw a person he'd never seen there before, a woman to be exact. She was sitting with her back to him, and apparently hadn't noticed anyone walking down the stair – it must have been all the tip toeing walking down the stairs at the dursleys that had made him able to walk soundless down a stair. She had long red hair, just reaching the middle of her back. It was straight, and seemed to be very well kept. He had heard Ron speaking of another sister, beside Ginny, named Charlotte but Harry had never actually met her.

"You know, you could just come down here and say hello to me" She said still with her back to the stair. Her voice was very calm, and almost had an amused tone to it. Harry walked down the four last steps, and walked around to look at her. "Oh Merlin – I thought it was one of my brothers" She said, her eyes darting toward harry forehead; it only rested there for a second, before she smiled at him. "So you're Harry?" She asked, though harry knew she probably knew it was him too. He nodded, still taking in her appearance – unlike Ginny and the twins; she had bright blue eyes, just like Mr. Weasley and Ron. Her skin was a little tan, but not as much as Charlie's was, and she had almost no freckles, she had the same nose as Mrs. Weasley, and a kind heart shaped face.

She eyed the chair next to Harry "Want to sit?" She offered. Harry nodded again, and seated on the chair.

"Ron has told me about you – and Hermione, of course, is she here too? I'd love to meet her, she sounds very smart from what Ron has told me" She smiled.

"Yes, she's here too" Harry frowned. "Uhm, how come you weren't at the quidditch finals? Ron says everyone in his family is crazy about quidditch"

"Oh – well, almost everyone are, but not me – when I was four, and Bill was five, Bill had a little toy broom, mind you it didn't fly very high, but he urged me to try it, and I fell down and broke my arm, and I haven't flown since" She smiled at him, not conflicted at all about sharing that piece of information with him. "So, you can guess I don't like quidditch very much either"

"But you weren't in Egypt with them last year, either, were you?" Harry tried to remember the photo Ron had sent to him from Egypt, where everyone in Ron's family had been in the summer between their 2nd and 3rd year.

"No, I'm still very sorry I couldn't join them – I was working, you see I'm a healer, and we don't just take vacation unplanned, so I had to bite the sour apple, and take a trip to Italy myself later that year" She smiled with a shrug.

"You're a healer?" Harry had heard of healers, of course, but he had never actually met one. She nodded.

"Not as romantic as it sounds though – there is a lot of paperwork involved" she chuckled.

"I don't think it sounds romantic"

"Yeah – Well you're the first one then, kiddo. I don't know how many teenagers drop out the first year, because they think it's all about curing diseases, _all the time_, when in reality that is only 30% of the job description. There is so much paperwork to be done, it's insane – but those few who find peace in doing that, those are the ones who survive" She smiled at Harry for a few seconds, before scrunching her nose. "What are you doing up so early, anyway, it's an ungodly hour if you ask me"

"Well, what are you doing up, then?"

"Oh, I only just got off work an hour ago, and since I now have vacation like every other witch or wizard, I decided I wanted to spend it here – and that mum have been begging me to come spend it with the family since everyone are together now" She grinned at him. "But you didn't answer my question"

"Oh, I couldn't sleep, so I thought I would go down here instead" He shrugged.

"Oh well, you know what I do whenever I can't sleep – I imagine everything I want to happen, and either I have worked out an entire scenario of a novel I could write, or I fall asleep within 5 minutes – usually it's the latter" She smirked. She looked at the clock, noticing it was only 5 in the morning, before looking back at harry "Now, I suggest you walk up to bed again, as my mum surely will fuss over you later, or you take a few rounds around the house, running mind you, and then walk up to bed again – trust me, my mum will fuss over you" she made it sound like a warning, and Harry did know just how capable Mrs. Weasley was of fussing. So he smiled at her, and did what she said. When he lay in his bed, he tried to imagine Gryffindor winning the house cup, but like Charlotte had said, he fell asleep in what he guessed to be within 5 minutes again.

Charlotte looked at the stair while Harry walked up to bed again – he seemed like an alright kid, a bit quiet, but that might just be because she babbled on – she was a Weasley after all.

She, herself, felt a bit tired so instead of waking up the others, she walked into the living room, and instantly fell asleep on the sofa.

Three hours later, she was rudely awoken from her sleep, by the sound of people arguing in the kitchen. She could hear her mum's voice, booming over those of her little brothers' Fred, George, and Ron – what had they been up to now?

She rose, groggily, from the sofa, and walked into the kitchen. "What's with the yelling?" She asked, ruffling her hair that already was a big tangled mess. The kitchen instantly became quiet, at every pair of eyes in the kitchen turned to her – including her mum's. Had she forgotten to tell she was coming over to stay? – No, she told her dad, and he promised he would tell her mum. Obviously, he hadn't.

"Charlotte – what are you doing here? I thought you would be busy working this summer" Her mum rushed over to her, and gave her a tight hug.

"I told dad I would be coming over – I got three weeks' vacation in the last minute" She said, struggling with her mum's tight grip on her. She could barely breathe. Her mum pulled away, and looked her over. _You're much too thin dear_ Charlotte thought, knowing that was what her mother would say.

"You're much too thin, dear. Come have some breakfast" She ushered Charlotte over to sit next to Bill, who had been grinning this entire time. Ron and Harry were sitting next to each other, and while Ron was finishing chewing off the food he had in his mouth, Harry smiled at Charlotte.

"You look great" Bill whispered to her, in contrast to their mum's comment. Charlotte grinned.

"I know" She whispered back, and added "I like the earring" as she saw his ear. A little fang like object was dangling from his ear, contributing to this rock star look he had going. Charlie and Ginny still weren't down, and their dad was absent as well. But a bushy haired girl was sitting next to Ron on his left side, looking at Charlotte, almost trying to figure out who she was, without asking any questions. Ron had, in that moment, finished chewing off his food, and nodded to Charlotte.

"Harry, Hermione, this is my sister Charlotte, she's the second oldest of us" Ron beamed, he leaned into harry and added "She's a healer too" Harry grinned back.

"He knows" Charlotte said, taking some toast and marmalade onto her plate.

"You do?" Ron asked Harry. Charlotte looked up, and saw Ron had a very confused expression. Harry nodded.

"I met her earlier – I couldn't sleep" he admitted. Charlotte turned to Fred and George while Harry told the story about how he had walked downstairs and found her sitting there to Ron. "So" She said to them, gaining their attention. They had been sitting huddled together ever since she entered the kitchen.

"Yes" Fred started

"- Sister, dear?" George finished. Charlotte really hated when they did that.

"What have you two been up to, I've heard some rumours that you're producing – "

"Nothing!"Ron instantly interjected, looking in the direction of their mum. Turning her head, Charlotte noticed her mum standing with her hands on her hips, looking in the direction of Fred and George in a very stern way, a way Charlotte never wished to have anyone look at her.

Fred and George hurriedly got up from their chairs "Uh, we'll talk to you later, sis" they said in unison, and scurried up the stairs. Charlotte stared at the stair puzzled. She had definitely missed out on something.

Instead she turned to Ron's friend, Hermione. "Ron tells me you're the cleverest witch in your year, is that true?"

Hermione flushed red – she could be a Weasley with that colour, and looked at Ron, who smiled brightly. "Well, maybe not the cleverest" She said quietly.

"Please – you're even smarter than those Ravenclaws" Ron huffed, but grinned. "None of them can even hold a hair to you"

"Hey, hey – Ravenclaws are not bad" Charlotte said, feigned hurt. She had been the only one in the Weasley family to not be sorted into Gryffindor, but into Ravenclaw instead.

"Just because you were one" Ron muttered. Hermione brightened up.

"You were a Ravenclaw?" She asked curiously.

"I was – the shame of the family" She said sarcastically, and smiled to her mother.

"Oh, nonsense – your father and I were very proud of you" she turned to Hermione "Prefect, _and _headgirl"

"Mum, I was all those things too" bill said, sounding slightly hurt, though knowing bill, like charlotte did, she knew he wasn't hurt at all.

"Oh – we're proud of all of you, no matter the house!" she retorted, piling some more bacon onto Harry's plate.

When everyone had finished breakfast, including Charlie and Ginny when they came down, Charlotte was offered to go upstairs and rest in her old room – right now it was inhabited by teenagers, but she gladly accepted, feeling tired as ever, and fell asleep as soon as she hit the pillow.

When she awoke again, it was noon. Everyone was either up on the hill playing quidditch, or in Hermione's case, reading a book.

Charlotte walked over to her, and apparently had frightened the girl, as she made an involuntary jump.

"Oh, sorry – didn't mean to frighten you" Charlotte apologized, looking down at the girl. She leaned back and read the front cover of the book. "_Basics of an animagus, how to tell between an animagus and an animal_" She read out loud, she cocked an eyebrow at the younger girl "Why are you reading up on animagi? You aren't supposed to cover those until 6th year"

Hermione's cheek became red. "I've come across the subject before, and, uh, wanted to know a little more" she said carefully.

"Oh – well, I know a lot about animagi, so you can just ask – or wait till the year starts again, and ask Professor McGonagall, I'm sure she's shown you all about her little trick" Charlotte grinned, as Hermione nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, she has" Hermione looked up into Charlottes eyes "Do you know anything about the law of it – I mean I know it isn't legal to be an animagus without registering with the ministry, but how do you register?" She asked curiously. Charlotte frowned, and tried to remember what she had been told.

"Well, first of all – you need to inform the ministry that you're planning on becoming one first, then tell them the detail of which animal you will become. Then, after you have succeeded in becoming the animal in question, you need to tell them about a specific trait that tells you are the animal, like McGonagall with the circles around her eyes, or it could be a specific marking on the leg or nose, something special like that. Tell the colour, the height, weight, tail length if the animal has a tail, or wing length if it's an animal with wings" Charlotte recited. She frowned at the girl "You're not planning on becoming one, are you?"

"No, no – I'm just interested in the subject. Before I came to Hogwarts, I never even knew of magic, so to be able to transform into an animal, is a huge thing for me" Hermione explained. Charlotte smiled, and patted the girl on the shoulder.

"Don't worry – my best friend is a muggle born too – he's a bit stubborn though, and sometimes he can be a nuisance, but that's how friends are like – he's in Australia now though." Charlotte smiled. Hermione let out a huff.

"Yes, I know what you mean, Ronald can be so daft sometimes – I mean" She looked at Charlotte cautiously as she trailed off, but Charlotte merely laughed.

"Don't worry – I feel the same way, but he's very loveable in the end" Charlotte looked around "Now, have you seen my mother anywhere, I need to say something to her"

"I think she's out in the yard" Hermione said, looking toward the back yard.

"Right, thanks" She made a move to leave, but looked to Hermione who already was reading in her book again "remember, I don't want to hear anything about you becoming an animagus now" she grinned. The girl looked up, and nodded reassuringly, before Charlotte walked out in the back yard, and right Hermione was, her mum was indeed in the back yard, trying to fix the garden.

"Mum" Charlotte called, and her mum turned her attention to her.

"Oh good, you're up dear, I need someone to get fetch the boys for lunch" She said, wiping her forehead.

"Um, actually mum, I was going to tell you, that I would be going home for a few hours, to pack some clothes, and leave my flat in a state where I can be away for three weeks" She smiled.

"Oh, of course, dear – I hadn't even thought about that, seeing you all here makes me think you're all still living here" She said a bit too sad if you asked Charlotte, but she smiled none the less.

"Don't worry mum, I will come back – I just need a shower and some clean clothes, trust me, you do not want me to go around in these clothes for three weeks" Charlotte grinned. Her mum eventually waved her off, and Charlotte returned to her flat in London. It was a messy state she returned to. She wasn't the big cleaner, and it really showed. But with one flick of her wand, the flat was cleaned, and everything flew over at the place where it was supposed to be – even if its place was in the kitchen sink.

She would then go out into the, now not so, messy kitchen. She made the dishes, glasses, and silverware clean itself, and put itself in its place. The fridge, which her father always was very interested in every time he visited her, was cleaned out of food, and her cabinets cleaned as well – might as well do it now, instead of later. She walked into the bedroom, while the kitchen literally cleaned itself; she took her clothes off down to her underwear, and threw her dirty clothes in the hamper, which luckily, wasn't as full as it used to be. She took some fresh underwear from the closet, and went out into the bathroom.

When she was done showering, she pulled on some fresh clothes, and packed the rest – she didn't really have much clean clothes left, so she just took what was clean. She also packed her toilet stuff, seeing as she would be staying there for three weeks, and she did _not_ want to share clean utensils with her brothers, _again._ When she came out into the kitchen, she saw to her satisfaction that the kitchen had cleaned itself, and every dish and glass were at their rightful place in the cabinet just above the sink, and the silverware had tucked itself away in the shelf.

She noticed the time – she had already been away for one hour, but she needed to relax a little before returning to the burrow – all the hassle that had already been going on, in just the time she had been there. True, she sometimes missed living with her family, but it could all be really stressful, and Charlotte was not about being stressful. But she wasn't finished packing yet, so instead she turned her attention on that.

Around afternoon, she returned to the burrow, seeing with delight that her father had come home from a long day at work. He was very happy that she had decided to stay with them over the summer, as had bill and Charlie, but seemed mostly happy because they were now all together, with a few additions to the family with Hermione and Harry there. The house was very crowded the next few days, as Bill and Charlie would be staying there another week. Charlotte slept in her old room, together with Hermione, and Ginny, as Bill and Charlie shared Ginny's room, so that Percy could have his own room, and as could Fred and George.

Charlotte had almost seen nothing of Percy, as he spent most of his time in his room, working on kettle information for the ministry department he was working in. She shared a few conversations with him, and saw him at breakfast, and occasionally lunch and dinner – though not necessarily both. Charlotte had found it incredible he hadn't become a Ravenclaw as well, as he was certainly one of the most ambitious members of the family.

It was nice, for once, to be able to relax and not think about being summoned to the hospital, she loved being with her family, and have fun with them.


	2. Chapter 2

She got to know Harry and Hermione better, and they fitted the family so well, the only reason people couldn't see they were Weasleys were that their hair wasn't red.

But the time seemed to flow by, and soon they were in Diagon alley to collect her siblings new school stuff. She had promised Ginny she would buy her some new dress robes, as that was on the requirement list for the coming year. Charlotte, of course, knew why, but everyone who knew had sworn not to tell, so she wouldn't, even though they – Ron, Fred, George and Ginny bugged them about it all the time.

Charlotte walked with Ginny and Hermione into Madame Malkins, where they first looked around. Ginny pulled out a pink dress, with the length just under the knee - Charlotte shrewd her nose.

"You're not thinking of wanting a pink dress?" She asked her, looking over the dress Ginny had found. It had frills, and more layers than a cake.

"No – but this one really is ugly, don't you think?" She grinned, and hung it back. Charlotte grinned at her little sister, before walking around on the other side, where Hermione was looking at some purple dresses. She didn't seem to find anything she liked amongst them though, as she didn't once pull one out.

Charlotte found herself pulled in, and decided she too probably should look for a dress – just in case. She walked over to the 'black' section, and pulled out one dress after another.

She hadn't noticed anyone come up behind her, but jumped when she heard a silkily voice say "My, my – a Weasley with style" she turned around instantly, and saw Lucius Malfoy standing there, looking down at her with a self-satisfied smirk. She huffed, and turned back to the dresses on the hangings.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked annoyed, pulling out a black dress with sleeves.

"Oh, nothing – I'm merely looking around" He said, walked a few steps up next to her, looking at some of the dresses. Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

"You might want a pair of heels with that – I hear the longer the legs, the prettier the dress" She smirked, and walked over to another row of black dresses. He followed her, with an amused chuckle.

Her eyes fell on a black dress with no sleeves. It went to just past the knee, and seemed to be tight fitting. She pulled it out, and examined it.

"Oh, no – that dress wouldn't do" Malfoy commented, and took the dress from her hands.

"Hey – would you mind, I _actually_ didn't ask of your opinion, or of your company!" She said, putting her hands on her hips. He merely raised an eyebrow at her, and turned to the hanging, looking through the dresses, before pulling out a black dress, with straps going to past the shoulders. It was like the other one, except it had a more detailed fabric; it seemed to consist of two kinds, one that was tight fitting, and a layer on top that was curled up to make small waves along the whole piece.

She did like the dress, though, but she was not about to admit that she thought Lucius Malfoy had style – no matter the amount of money he put into the hospital. So, she scrunched up her nose, and looked for another one – it didn't really matter if she found one either.

"Oh, you can't be that devoid of style – this is a nice dress, especially for a figure such as yours" he smirked, looking to her hips. She turned to him, her hands on her hips, and looked him into his eyes.

"I would appreciate if you left me alone, Mr. Malfoy. I have not asked your opinion, and will not expect you to voice it, as it is irrelevant to me" She said, holding her head high, avoiding insulting him straight away.

But he merely smirked, and hung the dress back. He took a step forward, glancing down at Charlotte. He stood so close she could almost feel his breath on her forehead. "It's a shame" he whispered to her, leaning down a bit to her ear. "That such a fine young pureblood woman, as yourself, is in such a mess of a family – had I not known any better, I wouldn't have guessed you were in that bloodtraitor family" He took hold of one of her locks of hair that was dangling around her face, and twisted it between his fingers. She stood frozen in her spot, hatred filling her entire body. She looked at him. "My family is not a mess, and the state of my blood doesn't matter to me – as should it not matter to anyone else" She spat at him, with pure hatred. He frowned, and was about to retaliate, when –

"Get your filthy hands off of my daughter" Charlottes dad stood not far from them – he apparently had come into the ship looking for her, when he saw Malfoy standing close to her. His cheeks were red.

Malfoy backed off, straightened up, and turned to sneer at Charlotte's dad. "If it isn't Weasley senior – how's the rabbits, err, children?" He asked with a smirk.

"Get – away – from – my- daughter" he said again, more threateningly. "Or you won't be able to reproduce – ever" he was really frightening when angry in Charlottes opinion. She couldn't recall ever having seen him that angry before. Malfoy took one look at Charlotte, before turning on his heels, and walking away.

Her dad instantly was at her side, looking her over to see if Malfoy had done anything to her.

"He hasn't done anything, and I wasn't about to allow him to" Charlotte assured him, hanging back the dress she had taken before Malfoy had interrupted her. She turned to her father, though, and gave him a thankful smile. "Thank you, dad" she said. His cheeks became red, as usual when someone thanked him for something, and mumbled something about _no man like him should treat his daughter that way_. The two of them found Ginny and Hermione who were looking flushed, both standing with a dress.

"Did Mr. Malfoy just leave, rather angrily?" Ginny asked their father. Charlotte laughed, and told them not to worry. The dress Ginny had found was a red silk dress, with a black band around the stomach area, whereas Hermione's was midnight blue, with frills, going just past her knees.

Charlotte paid for Ginny's dress – Ginny reassuring her, she should find some way to pay her back, but Charlotte dismissed her, saying it was a birthday present.

They walked out of the shop, both Ginny and Hermione were satisfied with their purchases, and met up with the rest. They finished their shopping within the hour, and when they returned home, their mum started making dinner.

A week before the younger Weasleys would return to Hogwarts, Charlotte was summoned to the hospital – reluctantly, as she had already told them, she wouldn't come to their heed. But assuring her they didn't need her help for the patients, and wanted to give her a proposition, she agreed to their terms. She walked in through the patient's entrance and, upon seeing all the sick and wounded people waiting to be attended – one had a boot magically stuck in his forehead, hurried up onto her boss's office on the third floor.

"Come in" Her voice sounded. Charlotte entered the office, and her boss smiled at her as she entered. Charlotte closed the door behind her, and looked at her boss.

"Make this quick, I promised my family not to spend the day here" She said, while walking over to sit on the chair across from her boss. There was a golden name plate on the desk in front of her, reading 'Chief healer, R. Simmons'

"An opening has occurred" She merely stated.

"What sort of opening?"

"Potioneering – a trainee, of sorts – it opens up to a lot of different ways, in the healing subject, for example the ward of special cases – werewolves, vampires, snake bites, and every other heavy case" she explained. "Every year, we ask a potions master or mistress, if they want to take on a healer as their apprentice, to develop the healer to become an even greater potioneer, both medically, and personally. It takes a lot to become a healer, and we want to have the best of the best here at St. Mungos." Simmons said, folding her hands on her desk, resting her chin on it, while looking at Charlotte.

"So you want me to become an apprentice, in Potioneering?" she asked, a little bewildered. Only a few healers actually had the chance of becoming an apprentice in that subject, and usually healers mostly dealt with the patients, and not the medical brewing of the treatment the patients needed – only the lucky few had the chance, and will, to do this.

"Yes – 73% of the board meant the apprenticeship should go to you, as you are one of the more eager minds here at St. Mungos" Simmons grinned. "So, what do you say?"

"Of course – It would be an honour to do that" Charlotte grinned widely – she'd always wanted to work with the potions in the healing subject. "So, who is the potions master?" She asked eagerly.

"Well, here's the tricky part – see, we've had many resident healers under this particularly potions master eye, and not all have come with a good experience – in fact, there yet have to be a 100% good experience with this one – _But_ he is one of the best, and has provided many potions to the hospital"

"Okay – but who is it?" Charlotte asked again.

"Professor Severus Snape"


	3. Chapter 3

"_Professor Snape!" _ Her siblings said in unison when she later, at dinner revealed what had been the cause of her summon to the hospital. She had told them all about the apprenticeship, and of the opportunities it would give her. They had all listened very keenly – but like Charlotte, they too, were eager to know who it was – and she couldn't very well hide it from them, as five of them were going to Hogwarts as well.

She nodded to her siblings.

"Well, what did you say then?" Fred asked, almost outraged.

"Of course, she said no" Ron argued with a roll of his eyes.

"Um, actually Ron, I didn't" She said in a low voice.

"You – you're joking, right?" Fred looked horrified, that she wanted to spend another year, in the company of their horrifying Professor.

"I'm not – and really, Professor Snape isn't that bad"

"Well, that's because you were a Ravenclaw – he's horrifying when you're a Gryffindor" George said, while Ron and Fred nodded.

"Oh, stop it – it's wonderful that your sister is taking her career a step further" their mum said, sending the plates off to the kitchen sink, cleaning off the table. Percy was, yet again, vacant, and Bill had to return to Egypt to his job. Charlie left a week ago, so the space around the table had become roomier.

"Thank you, mum" Charlotte said, looking at Fred and George while saying it. "And besides, this means I will be at Hogwarts for most of the year – You should feel happy about that"

"We are – but it's just the outlook of you spending time with Snape" Ginny chimed in with a grimace on her face.

"_Professor Snape_, Ginny" Their dad corrected her. Charlotte looked at Ginny.

"You know, it will only be three hours each day, and I'll even have the weekends off – it's a good deal!" Charlotte retorted.

"So, for how long is it?" Her mum asked her.

"From the beginning of the year, to Easter" She replied.

They weren't convinced that it was a good idea, and even Harry and Hermione, who both had stayed quiet during the conversation, didn't look certain about it either.

Nobody said anything about the matter, and everyone had almost forgotten about it, until September 1st, when they all were off for Hogwarts.

Charlotte had been home, and emptied her flat for clothes, while loaning said flat to Percy, so he better could get to and from work without having to use much energy on it. So everything was taken care of. She bid her parents goodbye, and went onboard on the train along with her siblings. Seeing as it was unusual for people who weren't student at the school to board the train, they didn't have a compartment for her kind – the slightly older student type, so she seated with Ron, Harry and Hermione, who were joined by one of their friends, a boy named Neville. She had seen him before, of course, and knew of the fate his parents had suffered. She felt with the poor boy, but knew she shouldn't say anything about it.

It was cases like Neville's parents that made her want to study into the Potioneering – if she could help develop an antidote to the cruciatus curse; they could make a breakthrough in the wizarding medicine.

She would have to admit, she had a great time in the train with her siblings – the twins, now able to do as much magic as they wanted to, made the trip a riot. She did think they perhaps went over the line when they tried turning Ron's nose into a beak – it was incredible that they didn't have higher grades in transfiguration, the things they could do were highly advanced. But, she guessed, since they nearly never wrote they papers with much satisfaction, their grades would always be an 'A' – well they got an 'e' in transfiguration in their owls.

When they arrived at Hogwarts Castle, she was asked by McGonagall to sit with the teachers. McGonagall seemed thrilled that Charlotte had returned – Charlotte had always excelled at Transfiguration. It was astrology, divination, history and care of magical beasts she had failed. But transfiguration and Potions were her best subjects, followed by Herbology and Charms.

She was seated between Flitwick and Sinistra at the feast. Flitwick, as McGonagall had been, seemed very pleased that she was back, though, he couldn't help but comment that he had thought, at her newts exams, she would have gotten an 'o' instead of an 'e'. She laughed at this, telling him not everyone could be perfect. Flitwick had been her house of head at Hogwarts, so he almost knew her better than any of the other teachers there – he had been the one who had suggested she should try out healing, when she was in her 5th year.

She quite liked being back at Hogwarts, though; she knew her siblings would be bugging her after the feast.

And right she was – after Dumbledore had told the students, firstly why she was there and of the other teachers – mad eye moody would be the defense teacher, secondly of the upcoming tri-wizard tournament.

The moment the feast had ended she saw her siblings about to walk over to her– luckily however, Professor Snape tapped her on the shoulder, requesting to speak with her. She nodded, and they walked past her siblings, without a word to them. She liked feeling just a bit superior to them, beside the usual older sister thing.

"Now" Professor Snape started, as they had entered his office. He hadn't said a word while walking down into the dungeons. He sat down at his desk, motioning for her to sit as continued.

"I'm not doing this willingly, but because of an _incident_, the previous school year, I have been told that I have to take on an apprentice. I have tried this before, and I have seen dunderheads leave this room in tears, because they could not make the potion I wanted them to concoct, correctly" He looked her straight in her eyes. She'd always felt uncomfortable when he was looking at her like that – it was like he could see through her soul. "I have no hopes for you – I am in fact expecting you to be running out of that door" he looked to the door, and then back at her "Before the Halloween feast, and then hopefully, that damnable hospital will stop using me as their way of trying to teach insufferable healers-to-be" he ranted.

"Now, with that said, I want you to meet up here, everyday, prepared and willing to do what I tell you to do. We will take out three hours every night, not because I want to spend further hours with you, but because I will have you clean everything without the use of magic the first few times – that is the only way you can learn the basics, of the advanced art that is potions" Charlotte nodded. "When I say prepared" he continued, looking down shuffling some papers around "I mean, you will have read up on the potion I assigned the night before, might even have tried it out yourself, found the ingredients that will be used in the potion, and peeled, squashed, or whatever they may need to be. I will not tolerate any laziness on your behalf, and I expect you to do the best with 140% - any less, and I will send you back to St. Mungos in a matchbox" as he said the last part, he looked up, and Charlotte could see he was very serious.

But charlotte had already expected this wouldn't be a stroll in the park, so she nodded. "Good – now bugger off" he said, waving his hand lazily at the door. Charlotte nodded, and walked out the door. She had a feeling she would be working harder at Hogwarts, than at the hospital.

She walked up to her quarters, neatly located at the top of the stair, leading down to the dungeons.

In her quarters, she had a living room, a bed room, and a bathroom. Books filled the bookshelves of the living room shelves, and a sofa was put in front of the fireplace. The bed spread was in the colours of Blue and bronze, and the Ravenclaw crest was at the top of her fireplace in the living room. It was as though, that just because she had been a Ravenclaw, they thought she would want everything in Ravenclaw colours – now, her favorite colour was actually green and purple, and her favorite animal – and patronus, a wolf.

She didn't bother to change the colours of the room though - it seemed silly, considering she didn't mind it either.

She stayed up for a bit reading a book, until she could feel her eyelids dropping. She went to bed, and fell asleep only a few minutes later, thinking this would be an exciting year for her.

Disclaimer - i don't own Harry Potter, J.K rowling does.

- Thank you for all the kind reviews :3


	4. Chapter 4

Already next morning, there was a note on her bedstand. It read:

_Read pages 23-55 of the book most potente potions._

_Read – Memoria potio._

_Be at my class room at 7 am. _

_Don't be late. _

_S.S _

She put down the note, and walked out of bed.

She found the book amongst many others potions related, in one of the bookshelves in the living room. She found the pages she needed and put a bookmark at the end and the beginning of the pages, before getting dressed and walked up for breakfast.

"Charlotte" George called, and waved her over to the Gryffindor table, as she entered the great hall.

"What's up?" She asked when she'd walked over to them.

"Why didn't you tell us about the tournament?" Fred asked crossed, while the others grinned. Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"It was a secret – students weren't allowed to know" she eyed them suspiciously. "Don't even try to enter – you heard what Professor Dumbledore said; only students over the age of 17 may enter"

"You're hurting our feelings! We couldn't possibly think of entering when under the age of 17" George sniggered. Charlotte narrowed her eyes on them.

"Whatever it is you're planning to do, forget about it – it's a dangerous tournament" She said, and turned to leave. She heard Fred, or George's hushed down voice saying 'had she been a Gryffindor she would have approved'. Possibly, but she would still know of the dangers that lurked in a tri-wizard tournament. There was a reason why they hadn't held one in over 100 years.

She shook her head at her siblings, and walked up to the teachers table, where she found some breakfast.

She spent most of the day in her quarters, or in the library, looking up information on the potion she would be making later in the evening. She read the pages she had been assigned one time, before trying to brew the potion. She used one of the smaller rooms in the dungeon, where she began. She tried it three times, before getting the perfect concoction, coming to the conclusion that the book she had been assigned to read, did not contain all the information she needed. She scratched out some of the methods of using the ingredients, and wrote in her own.

As she already had used some of her ingredients, she could see she needed some more. She asked Professor Sprout if she could use some of the plants from the green houses, and Professor Sprout allowed her to, with bearing in mind she should be cautious of some of them.

When she came back in again, she had most of what she needed, noting she wouldn't have to find more herbs in the next two weeks. But she also needed some of the more difficult ingredients, and so she had to walk to hogsmeade to collect some more ingredients.

Dogweed and Deathcap had what she needed, and after spending 50 galleons on ingredients – uncommon and common, she walked back to the castle to organize everything she had.

She just managed to eat dinner, before rushing to her quarters, collecting everything she had, and rushed to Professor Snape's class room. It was still locked when she arrived, and she was 5 minutes early.

Only two minutes later, Professor Snape arrived, raised an eyebrow at her, and let them into the class room. With his wand, he flicked on the lights, and Charlotte let her book drop on top of one of the front row student desks, and gently put down the ingredients, her silver cauldron, her utensils, and several phials. She then turned to awaiting glance at the Professor.

"I suggest you start right away – I will be looking to see if you are doing a proper job once or twice, but I will also have to grade papers in the mean while" he said, sitting down at his desk, looking at her. Charlotte nodded, and began sorting the ingredients, putting the cauldron over fire, and adding first, a little water. She chopped the ingredients she had to chop, and added then first, stirring once clockwise, and once counterclockwise. She then squashed the beetles she needed the blood off, adding that with one drop at the time, stirring clockwise first, and then added the second drop, and stirred counterclockwise. The water had begun boiling a little, and she could now add the toadstool, and the shriveled fig. she stirred once clockwise, and once counterclockwise, before, with a flick of her wand, letting the temperature drop a little, but still letting It simmer. It now had to stand like that for 30 minutes.

She then began to clean the utensils she had brought with her, by hand of course, before making sure the potion had the right temperature. It had.

She hadn't noticed that Professor Snape had been watching close to her every move. True he had been grading some papers, but he had been curious. She had been one of the students who had surprised him, when she got an 'o' at her newt exam.

She handled very ingredient with care, and treated it with an unspoken form for respect. The way she put said ingredients into the cauldron were with as much care, as approaching a hippogriff. In his time as a potions master, he had never seen an apprentice handle the ingredients with as much care as she did. He had underestimated her it seemed.

He saw an opportunity to see if the potion looked the way it should. Soundlessly, he got up from the chair, and walked up behind her, peaking into the cauldron from over her shoulder. She didn't even notice him standing there, it seemed, as she didn't make a move to get out of his way, as many others had.

But the potion did have the right colour – a dark yellow, and the consistency was coming along rather nicely.

Charlotte hadn't noticed him standing there, when he began to speak. She didn't jump, or flinch like she would have thought she would – but maybe his voice didn't sound as menacing as she had expected him to?

"The potion will be finished in 5 minutes – I suggest you find a suitable phial to put it in" he said, his tone rather calm, compared to the fact that it was him, the most feared professor in the whole of Britain.

She nodded, finding the phial she had attended this concoction for.

A few minutes later, she had taken the cauldron off the fire, and found the consistency of the potion was just right. She poured some of the potion into the phial, and took the draught up to Professor Snape, who had seated behind his desk again. He was looking through some papers, an unsatisfied look was on his face, and he just waved to her, that she should put the phial on his desk.

She took the rest of the potion into two different phials, and began to clean the cauldron, once or twice looking up to find Professor Snape looking over her draught with much concentration.

As he had said the night before, she scrubbed the cauldron without magic, making sure every part of it was clean and useable for a new potion later. She used to do this when she lived at home and was underage – she couldn't very well use magic to clean her cauldrons, so she knew how to scrub them squeaky clean.

When she had finished cleaning everything off, and placed her things in the cauldron, she stood in front of Professor Snape, who was now sniffing the potion. She suspected him, to be trying to find flaws with the potion, which was why he took so long. When he finally put down the potion, he looked up at her.

"Can I see your book?" He said. She nodded, and walked over to get him her book.

He turned to the pages he had assigned her for, and looked at the one with the actual recipe.

"I see you have crossed out the directions" he said, looking up at her from behind the book. She nodded.

"I don't think the directions in that book are accurate – had I used those directions, I would have ended up with a brown potion with the consistency of mud" she said, looking him in the eyes. He nodded once.

"Good – I have always thought the directions in the books were less than satisfying" he looked down into her book again "You have written to stir once clockwise, and once counterclockwise, every time you have to stir – what good does that do, to the potion?" he asked, not out of curiosity, but more because he wanted her to explain the effect the stirring had to the potion.

"Well, if I only stir clockwise, and do that three times like the book says, the potion will become much too watery, as I will have to stir every time I add a new ingredient – stirring once clockwise, followed by once counterclockwise, the ingredients will melt together, and become a more creamy consistency" she said, still looking him in the eyes. She couldn't help not doing it, she felt like she would seem like a scared teenager if she didn't. To her satisfaction, he nodded again.

"Correct – and squashing the beetles instead of chopping them, gives more blood – yes" he handed her the book back, and looked at her. "Now, this potion is called the Memoria Potio – the memory potion. What is it used for?"

"Patients who have suffered minor memory loss – it can help regain a little of their memory. It doesn't help, however, on patients who have lost sense of who they are, or what have happened to them, and certainly not on patients who have forgotten everything about their life – those who have suffered severe trauma in other words" she said, and once again he nodded, seeming satisfied with her explanation.

"I am pleased with your work – if you keep it up, you might not disappoint me" he said. She nodded. "Now, take your things and leave my class room – I will send you a note about time, and what potion you will be brewing tomorrow" she nodded, took her book back, collected the rest of her things, and walked out of the class room, satisfied that she seemingly had pleased the grouchy hard-to-please Professor.

As she was walking up toward her quarters, she saw a blonde haired boy whom she knew to be Draco Malfoy – the son of Lucius Malfoy. He seemed to be in a heated discussion with a younger student, who looked very frightened to be there, while Malfoy had two friends next to him cracking their knuckles.

Charlotte slowed down a bit, almost coming to a stop, taking the situation in and thinking about what she should do. She didn't want to haste into conclusions.

"If you don't do as I say, I will make sure you won't be able to spy on _anyone_ this year" Malfoy said with a malicious undertone.

"But I don't want to spy on anyone at all" the kid replied, looking at Malfoy's two friends horrified, cracking their knuckles in front of him again.

"That's not really something I want to care about – do as I say, and you won't end up at the hospital wing, _or worse_"

"But I don't want to spy on Harry Potter – "

"You will do whatever I say"

Charlotte had heard enough. With a frown, she walked up to them. They turned around as they heard her shoes clatter against the stone floor; she stood with her hands on her hips, and looked at the three boys who were cornering the younger boy.

"What's going on here?" She asked looking from Malfoy to the boy.

"I don't see how that is any of your business, Weasley" Malfoy sneered, and looked at her with disgust.

"Might not be hers, boy, but sure is mine" Mad-eye walked toward them from the other hall, his enchanted eye spinning around, before focusing on Charlotte; His real eye was focused on Malfoy. "Now answer the question" He billowed.

"You don't scare me" Malfoy said with a huff – his two friends looked at each other and started laughing. Mad-eye then took out his wand, and pointed it to the boy.

"Are you sure you want to test that theory, boy?" He had a malicious grin on his face, and Charlotte wasn't exactly sure that was the way to handle the students.

But Malfoy clearly didn't believe him. "You're a teacher; you can't do anything to me"

"I give you a last chance" He said still grinning maliciously.

"Professor Moody" A voice came behind Charlotte. She turned around and saw Professor Snape near them. He looked at mad-eye with great interest, almost to the point where he was studying him. "I believe it is my job to find a suitable punish for Mr. Malfoy, as I am his head of house"

Mad-eye fumbled with his wand, and put it away behind his robes. "'Course – just wanted to make sure he got the message" he turned to Malfoy again. "If I ever see you threaten another student, Professor Snape won't always be there to save ya pompous arse" He said with a hushed voice, before humping off.

Professor Snape walked over to Malfoy. "Release, the Gryffindor" he said to Malfoy's two friends. They immediately released him, and the kid first looked at Charlotte to Professor Snape, before running off.

"Now Mr. Malfoy, why were you holding a Gryffindor student captured?" He asked him, narrowing his eyes at the boy.

"We just had a friendly chat, but then the bloodtraitor came along" Malfoy spat with contempt, and looked at Charlotte as though she was the dirt underneath the sole of his shoe.

"Mind your language, Mr. Malfoy; here in the castle you are to call her Miss Weasley" Malfoy didn't reply, merely looked at her with disgust. This boy was just like his father, though, his father knew how to be subtle – this boy did not.

"Can we leave, professor?" Malfoy asked.

"Yes – go back to the dorm, I will know if you have not returned" Professor Snape said, waving a hand at them dismissively, and they scattered off in the direction Charlotte had just come from.

Charlotte turned to Professor Snape, not believing what she had just seen. "You're just going to let them get away?"

"I don't see why not – they did not do anything to the boy, so why should they be punished?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because he threatened to – "

"I don't see how this is any of your concern Miss Weasley – I suggest you walk back to your quarters and get some sleep, tomorrow won't be easier than today"

He turned around dismissively, and Charlotte stood there not believing what he had just said. But she also knew she shouldn't be arguing with him, and that she didn't even have a say in whatever went on with the students.

She still thought it unfair, and remembered what her siblings had always said – he was always unfair to Gryffindors.

Shaking her head, she went back to her quarters, and went to sleep not long after.

Disclaimer - i don't own Harry Potter, or anything related to him, or the world. I only own Charlotte Weasley.


	5. Chapter 5

She kept this up, and every day she seemed to surprise the potions master in new ways. He was pleased with her commitment – no other healer trainee had lasted as long as she had, she even seemed to have surprised him in a good way.

She seemed to understand the commitment and finer arts of Potion brewing, beyond the normal form. He wondered if she always had been this good, or if that was something she had taken on after leaving Hogwarts – the more he tried, the less he seemed to remember her, when he had been teaching her. Of course, he had been young when he had taught her – younger than she was now.

The more they saw of each other, the more he seemed to enjoy her company. She was an intelligent, witty, and creative witch – Ravenclaw in every aspect, though she could surprise him with quick sarcastic remark, and still be very kind to those around her. From what he observed in the great hall, she tried very much to keep her younger, so very different from her, brothers to stop what they were doing, though with no such luck.

It was her, who later would remove that beard the Weasley twins had sprouted after trying an aging potion, lecturing them, that potions should not be used for cheating, and though the Weasley twins had feared she would, Charlotte didn't send home a letter, telling their mother of what the twins had been up to. It would, indeed, be an interesting year Professor Snape would have.

On October 30th the students were all lined up – 1st years in the front, and 7th years in the back. The students walked out in front, and the teachers, including Charlotte, walked in the back. They were all waiting for the delegation from the other schools to arrive.

She heard the students mutter about how the other schools would arrive, and she found herself wondering the same thing. She hadn't been told much about how they would arrive, just that they would arrive on the day before Halloween.

"It's quite exciting, don't you think?" She asked Professor Snape in a hushed voice, her eyes scurrying around all over the place. He responded with a huff. He clearly didn't deem it exciting. She grinned at him.

"Oh, look on the bright side, you won't have to deal with those dunderhead students as much this year"

He turned his head to her, a smirk forming on his lips "I will still have to deal with you, will I not?"

Charlotte feigned hurt "You're hurting my feelings" she said sarcastically, and then chuckled.

"It's a dragon!" One of the first years shrieked, making Charlotte turn her head toward the forest. Something big was indeed coming towards them – but it wasn't a dragon.

If she had been looking at him in that moment, and not turned her head to look at the flying something coming towards them, she would have seen a small smile on his lips.

But it disappeared at quickly as it had come, because in that moment, a loud horse carriage flew down toward the ground, almost knocking a few younger students out in the process. It eventually came to a still, and a boy wearing pale blue silk robes jumped off the carriage, bent down and fumbled with something on the carriage, before finally unfolding a step of golden stairs. He straightened up, and opened a door on the carriage. A big woman, possibly the size of Hagrid, if not bigger, stepped out of the carriage. When she stepped into the light from the entrance hall, Charlotte saw that she had a pretty olive skinned face, large brown eyes, and a beaky nose.

Dumbledore then began to clap, a smile formed on Charlotte's lips as she began clapping as well.

The woman smiled graciously at them, before stepping forward and extended her hand to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore, though he was tall too, had to barely bend down to plant a soft kiss on her hand.

"My dear Madame Maxime" He said "Welcome to Hogwarts"

"Dumbly-dorr" She said with a heavy French accent. "I 'ope i find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you" Dumbledore replied with a smile.

"My pupils" She said, and graciously waved her hand toward the large carriage behind her.

Many girls walked out of the carriage, followed by the same amount of boys – all of them had fair, light skin, a light shade hair – whether it was brown, or blonde, and they were all the right size – skinny, and with just a little bit of curve. One girl even had a silvery flowing hair, which instantly entranced the male population of Hogwarts. Charlotte suspected her to be part veela.

They were shivering – no wonder, since they were only wearing silk robes, and didn't even have travel robes with them. Some of them had shawls around their heads, to try and keep warm. Dumbledore offered them to wait outside with Hogwarts, for the Durmstrang delegation, or if they wanted to go inside and get warm. Maxime chose the latter, and after being reassured that her horses were to taken care of, she and her students walked inside.

It was only by a coincidence she looked at Snape while they walked by – his eyes, like the rest of the male population of the school, followed the Veela inside.

It was a weird feeling, seeing him look at a girl like that. Charlotte couldn't place the feeling, but couldn't forget it either. She didn't say anything, but her thoughts were also turned elsewhere, as the Durmstrang students arrived; a boat arose from the depths of the lake, and as soon it had laid anchor, several fur dressed students, both boys and girls, led by a man with the equal amount of fur, walked onto land. The man who had gone off the ship first, spoke with Dumbledore first, before walking toward the castle, and past Charlotte and Snape.

Karkaroff glared momentarily at Professor Snape, before walking inside.

"You know this guy?" Charlotte asked, as they walked inside, after the others had gone past them – none of them really liked being pushed and ushered to go inside, so they waited until everyone had gone inside, to follow them.

"A ghost from the past" He answered simply, and they walked inside.

When they were all seated – the Beauxbatons students rose to their feet the moment Maxime entered the hall, and first sat down again when Maxime was seated on Dumbledore's left hand.

Karkaroff was seated at his right hand, meaning the seating arrangements had been completely switched around. Charlotte found herself, for the first time, sitting next to Professor Snape.

"Good evening, Ladies and gentlemen, ghosts – and most particularly, guests" Dumbledore said, beaming around at the students "I have great pleasure of welcoming you all here to Hogwarts. I hope your stay here will be both pleasurable and comfortable" Charlotte looked at the students – some of the Beauxbatons girls were still shivering.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast" Dumbledore said "I now invite you all to eat, drink and make yourselves at home" He clapped once, and food appeared all over the hall on the tables.

Charlotte looked at all the different dishes that were served – the usual dishes were there as well, but dishes from France, and the north was there as well.

Knowing her stomach usually didn't take foreign food well, she poured up some Sheppard's pie and mashes.

Karkaroff was already eagerly talking with Dumbledore – she couldn't hear what he was saying, as their voices were hushed, but it seemed they knew each other. She turned to Professor Snape.

"They know each other too?" She asked mild curiosity in her voice.

"Yes – Dumbledore have many connections with the headmasters all over Europe" He answered without looking at her.

"I wonder how he does it" She mused, and began eating slowly.

"There are many things about the headmaster we don't know"

"Many things I'm sure we'll never know" Charlotte added, she had met enough people to know that those who were most outgoing, and told things about themselves, or at least let show of themselves, that they hid more things than they told.

When the feast had ended, and they had been told of the complete rules of the tournament, the students walked out of the hall.

Charlotte walked down to her quarters, looking forward to the next day.

The next day, during the Halloween feast, the champions of the schools were to be selected. Charlotte had taken her usual seat between Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall – though they all insisted she called them by their name, she kept calling them Professor.

When it finally was time, the first champion was chosen – Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, followed by the veela girl, who Charlotte now know to be named Fleur Delacour, and lastly by the Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff 7th year student – and when everyone thought that was the last, and the school still cheered for Cedric, the goblet flared up again, and another note with a name was cast out and into professor Dumbledore's hand.

Dumbledore looked at the note, and everyone became dead silent. He then called out "Harry Potter" two times, before Harry appeared looking puzzled and even more bewildered about what was going on. He tried to explain to Dumbledore he hadn't put in his own name, but Dumbledore waved him off, sending him into the room where the other champions had walked in. Charlotte looked around, as puzzled as the rest. She was one of the first up from her seat, to walk into the room to Harry.

"Charlotte – I didn't – you have to believe me – I didn't put my name in!" He instantly said as she had appeared. She nodded at him, knowing he couldn't have put the slip into the goblet – she had seen the effect it had done to Fred and George.

"I know Harry – but somebody did" Charlotte said, and the door flew up again, as the other teachers, including those from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons came in and were outraged.

They blamed Harry for bribing one of the older students to have put in his name for him, going so far as blaming Charlotte for it. But Dumbledore remained calm, and he looked into Harry's eyes.

"Harry, did you get one of the older students, or Charlotte, to put in your name?" Dumbledore asked. Harry kept eye contact, and firmly said –

"No"

Dumbledore let out a relieved breath. "Harry did not put his name into the goblet, but somebody did" he said, mostly to the two headmasters from the other schools. They still refused to believe it, but Dumbledore was certain – harry had spoken the truth.

"Perhaps, headmaster, we can slip him some veritaserum?" Professor Snape suggested, but Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, I believe him" He said. Dumbledore turned to Charlotte "Can you walk Harry up to the Gryffindor tower?" He asked her. She nodded, and took hold of Harry's wrist, leading him out of the room.

"You do believe me, right?" He asked again, as they walked. Charlotte turned her head to look at him – he looked on the edge, nervous, about what would happen to him now.

"I do – I'm just wondering who it could have been." She muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

"Whoever it was Harry, they want you seriously harmed" She added, a grave tone to her voice. She had heard of people who had died in the tournament, even people who had never come back.

When she had followed harry to the portrait hole of the Gryffindor tower, she walked back to her own quarters, pondering on who could possibly want to hurt Harry in such a way – well many people could, but here at Hogwarts?

Disclaimer - I don't own anything from the Potterverse - J.k Rowling and Warner Bros. does. ¨

- it would be lovely if you left a review, as i would like to how i'm doing - constructive criticism is very welcome :)


	6. Chapter 6

The next few days didn't become any better. She had Ron hanging around her quarters all the time, whining about Harry not putting Ron's name into the goblet – Ron, being the git he could be, thought harry actually had found a way of cheating. Charlotte told Ron, that it couldn't possibly have been Harry – they both knew what had happened to the twins, but Ron continued on insisting it was Harry who had done it.

She had to throw him out in the end, as he was interrupting her work with the potions studying. Professor Snape had her reading up to a hundred pages each day, on just a single potion. It was rough, and she had to get up early everyday to be able to make it all.

She had also promised her mum to keep an eye on Harry, as she was worried he would be feeling down. He _was_ feeling down, Charlotte found out, and while she tried to speak with him, he only shrugged, and didn't listen to her – teenagers.

Ron would then complain over her, as he thought she was taking Harry's side over his, which caused him to throw a hissy fit, and shut the door straight in her face, making several of her glasses containing live beetles fall down from the shelf, and shatter on the floor. It took her almost two hours to get them all collected into a glass again.

Since Ron no longer spoke with Harry, and Hermione helped harry find out about the first task, Ron more and more often came to her, only to moan and whine over Harry and sometimes Hermione too – he wouldn't listen to her reasoning, and he became angry with her once again, making Charlotte really stresses as she already had enough on her plate. On top of it, Fred and George expected her to help them with their potions Essay, which she refused to.

It all caused her to one night blow over when one of the beetles – a living one as she needed the blood freshly, tried to keep escaping from her when she tried to cut it. She became so angry with it; she accidentally cut it in a wrong way, causing her to groan out loud.

"Miss Weasley, may I ask what you are doing?" Professor Snape was, of course, standing right behind her, looking down over her shoulder.

She let out a frustrated groan, becoming irritated he had to be over her all the time – usually she didn't mind but when she screwed up, she didn't want _him_, least of all, to see.

"I _was_ trying to cut open this beetle, but apparently someone in the universe doesn't like me today!" with a frustrated sigh, she scraped the beetle up from the cutting board, walked past Professor Snape and threw it out. She couldn't use it now that it had been cut in the wrong way. She slammed the knife down onto the cutting board, and breathed heavily.

"Miss Weasley" he said again with a surprisingly calm voice, still standing in the same spot. She didn't turn around to face him, or even look at him. "You _know_ you are not supposed to cut the beetle that way" he stated. Still standing with her back to him, leaning over the desk, she replied

"I know"

"Then, pray tell, why did you cut it like that?"

"It wouldn't stay still" she replied.

"As it is a live beetle I would not suspect it to lie still" He replied sarcastically. She didn't reply, and instead begun working on another beetle. She ignored Professor Snape, and cut it correctly this time. She poured the blood into the concoction, and watched it turning purple. It was supposed to be lighter than that, but it would do.

She added the last few ingredients, still feeling the air of his breathing on her neck. When she had added the last ingredient, it had to simmer for 30 minutes.

So she spun around, and crossed her arms, standing almost nose to nose with professor Snape.

"Would you mind not standing so close to me? I can't concentrate properly when I feel your breath on my neck" She snapped at him, feeling all of her frustrations wanting to boil over at that moment.

"Would you mind telling me, why that potion is purple, and not a light purple?" He answered back, crossing his arms in return.

"Because I added the beetle too late – now would you mind stepping back?"

He took one step back, still glaring down at her. "Miss Weasley, if you want to be a good healer, you will have to deal with stress a lot and it is far better if you already now know how to deal with personal matters without letting it infect your job" he emphasized every word clearly, not taking his eyes off hers.

"I know that! I have been working as a healer the last two years!"

"And still you do not know how to separate your personal life from your professional life it seems"

"This is the first time this has happened, so why don't you back off?" She yelled, beginning to pace in front of him.

"Miss Weasley, what are you doing?" He asked her, sounding as though he found her ridiculous, which he probably also did.

"I'm pacing" She stated.

"Yes, I can see that" he said flatly. "Would you stop it?"

"No"

She hadn't seen him coming, but he suddenly was right in front of her, taking hold of her shoulders. She stared right into his eyes, and noticed something – something was different, but she couldn't tell what. She was too upset, too stressed out.

"Miss Weasley, I don't compliment students much, because frankly they don't deserve it, but you are different than my students, you have potential, so I will not see you back down because of some petty teenagers who can't keep a straight hold of their lives themselves" it wasn't a kind tone, more a take-it-together, kind of tone. But it was a big deal, coming from him. And it helped her to sort of calm down.

She nodded. "Thank you".

She suddenly became very much aware of how close he was standing to her. His nose was almost touching hers, and her hair had fallen on his hands where he had taken hold of her shoulders. Awkwardly they both took a step back from each other, not looking at one another.

She cleaned up, put the concoction in a phial, and left the class room, feeling uncertain of what had happened between them.

From then on, she began seeing him in a whole new light, and actually looked forward to the evenings. She thought perhaps she found something close of a friend in him, for his attitude towards her had changed immensely. He would still correct her, but in much softer tones, and he would actually show her how to cut the more difficult things, rather than just sit behind his desk and tell her.

She found she could talk with him – even though he tended to listen more, and occasionally drop in with his view on the subject, and she found she very much liked that. Sometimes they would also just be silent; where he would break it with further instructions for the potion she had been assigned.

On November 14th she woke up to a note lying on her bedstand – thinking it was from Professor Snape, she instantly took it, but opening it, she could see that it was not from Professor Snape.

"_Dear Charlotte_

_Since I am still in Australia, I'm deeply sorry that I, for the first time, can't be there for your 23__rd__ birthday. _

_I'm having a blast here – it's warm, it's nice, the water is clear. I wish you could be here with me – I miss you, Lottie. _

_It is also the reason why I have decided you must come to Australia and visit me in the Christmas break – think about it, we could spend New Year's Eve in the pool. _

_That is my birthday gift for you, a trip to Australia, and we can visit all the cool things – the coral reeve, the magical part of Sydney – did you know the opera is merely a reflection, and the real one is in the magical part of Sydney? It's true. _

_I heard about your apprenticeship with Snape – Snape! Are you completely bonkers? Didn't we discuss that he might be evil when we were in school? That he might be Satan himself? Why are you not running as fast as you can away from him? _

_Whatever reasons, I'm sure you know to do the right thing – RUN! _

_I hope you accept my offer – it could very well be the best time of your life. _

_Happy Birthday Lottie_

_Sincerely Kyle. _

_Ps. RUN!"_

She chuckled at his note, and put it back on the bedstand. She missed him as well, but she needed this apprenticeship to work. Maybe she would consider coming to Australia to see him, but she would have to think about it first. As to his views on Professor Snape, she felt a bit torn about that – she did indeed recall when they were in school, that Kyle didn't like him there either – possibly that was just because Kyle didn't have a high enough grade to get potions on newt levels, and because Kyle probably told Professor Snape he was evil around four times a year, only to earn a detention with McGonagall, or Flitwick.

She looked around to see there were gifts scattered on the floor. She swung her leg out of bed, and walked over to look at the pile. There were the usual gifts from her parents – a normal looking sweater for once, without the 'C' in the middle. It was purple, and looked very comfortable. There was also a homemade package of fudge, and chocolates. From the twins, she got a deep red amulet, which apparently could protect her from evil – possibly a reference that they too thought Professor Snape evil.

There were the usual gifts from her other siblings – candy, books, even a little candle, that would change the colour of the flame, depending on the mood in the room – from Ginny.

When she walked into the great hall a while later, she was stormed by her siblings, singing Happy birthday, and telling her she how much older she looked – in the twins' case at least.

Harry and Hermione also wished her a happy birthday, though they weren't sitting with her siblings – Ron was still very much angry with Harry, for not putting Ron's name in as well. But Charlotte couldn't just ignore Harry because her brother was being a git.

When she came up to the teachers table, most of the teachers too, wished her a happy birthday. She didn't see Professor Snape at breakfast and since today would be a very difficult potion, she spent the day in her quarters, reading up on the potion, and even tried to create it, though without any of the utensils that were needed, which were in the class room, she couldn't quite get it all done.

So later when she carried her stuff down into the potions class room, she was just happy she finally could get the potion done.

Professor Snape was sitting behind his desk as usual, when she entered the class room.

She walked over to the desk she usually used, and began setting everything up.

"Miss Weasley" he said, and she turned around.

"Yes?"

"It came to my knowledge, that it is your birthday today" He said, almost as though he was considering every word he spoke. "Meaning before we begin, I would like to wish you, a happy birthday" he said cautiously.

She nodded with a smile. "Thank you"

He rose from his chair and walked over to her "Now, this potion is very advanced – "

He started, and continued to tell her everything about the potion that wasn't typically known.

He told her what to cross out in her notes, and what to write as well. Things really had changed between them – she felt comfortable around him, and even once or twice, she could trace the outlines of a smile on his lips from something she had done, or said. Mostly something she had said, whether it be a sarcastic remark, or something about the potion that he had not expected her to know.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - i don't own the Potterverse, i'm merely playing around.<p>

Again, Leave reviews if there's something you like or something you don't like - constructive criticism is welcome, and thank you for the kind reviews you've left :)


	7. Chapter 7

Her siblings stopped bothering her, after telling them, she was there as an apprentice, and not their special tutor, or counselor. Harry excelled at the first task, where most of the students of Hogwarts had deemed him a lost case, but he came out with a shared first place, with the Durmstrang champion, Viktor Krum.

Everything almost turned normal after that – as normal as it could be, when you were under the apprenticeship of Professor Severus Snape.

In the beginning of December in one of the weekends when Ginny and Hermione was visiting her, Ginny made her aware that she did not have a Yule ball dress. Charlotte told her she wouldn't be attending. Ginny gasped.

"But you must – it will be so much fun!" Ginny exclaimed. Charlotte raised her eyebrow.

"You're not allowed to go"

"I am – well, not technically, but Neville's taking me" She grinned. Charlotte knew, of course, Ginny rather wanted Harry to take her, but Harry, it seemed, had a crush on a Cho Chang who was a Ravenclaw – she knew all of this because Ginny had ranted on about it for the last 20 minutes since the two of them had arrived at Charlotte's quarters.

"So you're taking advantage of him, to go to the ball?"

"No, I'm not – Neville's a nice guy, must admit I'm a bit scared he will step on my toes, but I'm sure I will have as much of a good time with Neville as I would with anybody else" Ginny beamed. Charlotte chuckled, and turned to Hermione, who had been admiring her books. "And who will you go with?" She asked curiously.

Hermione's cheeks became red, and she wouldn't look Charlotte in the eyes "Um, Viktor Krum" She muttered, not thinking Charlotte would hear. But charlotte did hear, and she smiled widely.

"Way to go – stealing, what most of this schools female population thinks is the hottest guy in the school right now"

"Oh, please don't say that – I must admit he is a bit attractive, but he just kept asking me, and he's actually quite nice when you get to know him" She blushed.

"Oh, don't worry Hermione – Charlotte here won't have anyone to go with" Ginny said, patting her friend's back.

"It's true – and I refuse to go with a student" She laughed, when Hermione was about to suggest something. Ginny looked at Charlotte hopefully.

"So you'll go then?"

"Yes, alright, I'll go" Charlotte gave in. "But I'm not wearing some puffy, fancy fine dress – simple and elegant" She said, smiling at her younger sister. Instantly, Ginny began to plan the next weekend's hogsmeade trip, where they would buy a dress and shoes for Charlotte.

So the next weekend, the three of them went to Hogsmeade, where Ginny pulled her through the store, though Charlotte already knew what she wanted to have – something black, and something elegant.

Ginny found several coloured dresses, but Charlotte had already laid her eyes on one – it was long, figure formed, and reached just to her ankles. It was simple, with only a thick waistband around the stomach area, in a deep green colour. She tried it on, and found it fit her perfectly. Ginny didn't like it, meant it should have more colours, but Hermione thought it suited Charlotte.

She found a matching pair of stilettos, making her 3 inches taller than she was. She liked it, and now felt a little better about going to be ball – she could always dance with one of her brothers, if she felt the need to dance.

She quickly forgot all about the Yule ball though, as Professor Snape worked her like a donkey. She was okay with it, as it meant she would spend more time with Professor Snape – she'd come to very much enjoy their sessions in the evenings, and actually looked forward to them.

The night before the beginning of the holiday, she was making a potion that would help re-grow bigger limbs, such as legs, or arms. The potion was called Membra profectus.

She had just finished it, when Professor Snape looked at her with a calculating look.

"What?" She asked looking at him puzzled.

"You will be attending the Yule ball, yes?"

"I will"

"And if I may ask, who will you be going with – not one of the students I hope, I have heard how those boys have spoken about you" he muttered the last past, apparently not wanting her to hear that, but she was a good listener, and heard it. She pretended not to.

"I will be going alone" She replied with a smile.

"Right" He said, his eyes lingering on her for a moment, before he returned to look at his papers.

She still had mixed feelings about him – she liked him, she could say that. He was intelligent, friendly – when you got to know him, and most of all, he made her laugh, even if it wasn't intentional.

But he also had a side to him that she knew could be cruel.

She cleaned up, and bid him goodnight before leaving.

She spent the first few days of vacation with her parents – it was nice to be there. Charlie, Bill and Percy – who now almost lived in Charlotte's flat, had chosen to spend Christmas with their parents as well, so it was only the 6 of them. It was nice – reminded her of the first few Christmas's they shared together – well, the ones she could remember. She did remember the Christmas when she was 4 years old, and Charlie was 2. Charlie had gotten a plush dragon that Charlotte found immensely interesting, and decided that was hers. Needless to say, their parents took the dragon from her, as Charlie kept crying.

Charlotte, Bill and Charlie became very childish during this holiday. On the first day home, it started snowing and the next day everything was white outside, so of course they deemed it appropriate to go outside, and have a snowball fight, make snowmen and snow angels, Ski down the hill bumping into several muggles there, but having the time of their lives.

When they finally came in again, their mother would fuss over them, saying if they didn't change clothes immediately they would get sick.

They did this almost every day; it seemed all three of them had really needed was some quality with each other. They tried to get Percy out with them, but he wouldn't budge – he needed to work for Barty Crouch.

Come Christmas day, she spend the first few hours at the burrow, eating Christmas dinner, and sharing presents with her family – Charlotte once again got a Blue sweater with a bronze coloured 'C' on. Truth to be told, she loved those sweaters, and always treasured them. She gave her mother a new travelling robe, her father a miniature plastic plane – a muggle object, which he was very fascinated by, Bill a fang necklace, Charlie an ointment to heal those wounds he always had – he only laughed at her, but he seemed to appreciate it and thanked her, and for Percy she got a book on the hierarchy in the ministry.

They all had a nice time, sharing presents, eating and just talking, but at around five Charlotte had to go. She apparated to hogsmeade, from where she walked up to the castle – she met Fred, George, Ron, and Harry on the way, all of whom were busy throwing Snow balls at each other, to even notice it was her, who was walking past them.

When she finally came inside, and had shaken the snow off of her, she came to stumble upon Professor Snape. She then remembered she actually had a gift for him.

"Professor Snape" She called, as he was about to enter the great hall. He stopped up, and looked her way. For a moment, it appeared as though he was happy to see her, but it quickly changed again. Charlotte thought nothing of it, and shrugged it off as being something she must have imagined. She skipped over to him, and summoned the gift she had bought.

"I bought this for you – I don't know if you can use it, but I thought of you when I saw it" She handed him the gift, that had been wrapped in Christmas paper. He studied the gift, looking surprised that she had even thought of him.

"I did not get you anything, if you are expecting that" He said.

"I didn't – but I wanted to give you that" She shrugged. She smiled brightly at him "Merry Christmas, Severus" she said, as though she had momentarily forgotten all formality between them. She turned to walk toward her quarters, when she heard him faintly say:

"Merry Christmas, Charlotte".

It warmed her heart to hear him say her name, and she wasn't about to spoil it, with him thinking she hadn't heard, by turning around. She grinned widely, as she walked away, feeling as if she could fly high on the sky.

As she entered her quarters, it hit her – she had fallen for the sour, grouchy, all feared, bat of the dungeons, potions master.

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><p>Disclaimer - I don't own anything from the potterverse, i'm merely playing around with it.<p>

The next chapter will have the yule ball included and a build up to what happens in the future of the story :)


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh no" she breathed out, feeling crestfallen. That was so inconvenient. She knew of course, he would never want somebody like her, and she was fine with that.

But working with a person, whom you have fallen in love with, who you know you can't be with, would be difficult. But she still couldn't help but feeling the warmth of her heart, as he had said her name.

She took a shower, dried her hair, did her hair, did her makeup – which all in all took two hours, and seeing there was only one hour left, she slid on the dress, looking at herself in the full body mirror. Her red hair was up, only a few curled locks hung loosely, she had a light make up on; Mascara, eye liner, dark blue eye shadow, and a subtle red lipstick. Her dress hugged the curves of her body nicely – the dress didn't have any straps, and hung tightly on the upper part of her body, and loosely at the bottom. She pulled on the shoes, and instantly felt very much taller.

She had promised Ginny that she would meet her at the stair, before the ball began, so she took her wand, put it in the small bead pouch she had transformed with an expandable charm, and began walking toward the stair.

"Wow – Charlotte, you look amazing" Ginny said, when Charlotte appeared. Ginny didn't look too bad herself – she wore the dress charlotte had bought for her; her hair was up as well, cascading around her shoulders, and she seemed to have gotten the makeup thing down.

The boy Charlotte knew to be Neville longbottom, walked down the stairs, and nearly tripped over himself when he saw Ginny. "You look fantastic" he finally croaked to her, as he reached them.

"Why thank you, Neville – you don't look too bad, either" Ginny smiled brightly. Charlotte smiled at the couple. She jerked her head away, by McGonagall's voice, calling her name. She turned around, and saw McGonagall coming their way – she herself was wearing a beautiful dress robe, it was green with long sleeves, and many details.

"Charlotte, all the teachers are required in the hall, to welcome the champions and stand as role models for the students, this means you as well" She smiled to her. Charlotte nodded, and turned her head to Ginny and Neville

"I'll see you in there" She said to them. They both nodded, Neville rather shy. McGonagall remained there, as Charlotte walked into the still student empty hall. Professor Dumbledore wore his finest dress robes, and as did the other teachers. Except for Severus – Oh, great, now she even thought of him as Severus, and not professor Snape. But he still looked great – he wore slightly lesser casual robes, but they were still black and billowy.

"Ah, Charlotte – you look very lovely this evening" Dumbledore complimented her.

"Why thank you – you don't look bad yourself, headmaster" She grinned at him. He blushed lightly, and chuckled.

"So, have you got a dance partner?" He asked her, with the usual twinkle in his eyes.

"No, I hope to find one while I'm here" She laughed.

"I'm sure you will" Dumbledore said, before skipping over to Sinistra, complimenting on her earrings. Mad-eye was looking suspicious, as though somebody was ready to attack him, but he always looked like somebody was about to attack him. Flitwick was wearing his finest attire as well, and even Trelawney had shown up. She looked around, and spotted Karkaroff coming her way. She pretended not to have seen him, but he walked over in front of her.

"I have not officially been introduced to you yet, but my name is Igor Karkaroff, the headmaster of Durmstrang, and what might be your name?" He asked her, with a suggestive smile. She smiled kindly at him.

"Charlotte Weasley – pleasure meeting you, officially" she added as a second thought.

"No, no, the pleasure is all mine – perhaps, you can be persuaded to taking the first dance with me?"

She couldn't see why not – he was a headmaster of Durmstrang, and one of the points of their stay there, were to improve the communications between the schools. So she shrugged and smiled

"Sure"

"Perfect" he said, taking her hand, gave it a small kiss, and walked over to where Severus was standing. He looked a bit tense, but Charlotte reckoned he always looked tense, and therefore thought nothing of it.

The students were finally let in, and when the champions had opened the ball, so to speak, Igor bowed before her, took her hand, and let her out on the dance floor. He was a very skilled dancer, and moved with precision. After the first dance, George tapped his shoulder, and asked for a dance with Charlotte. He nodded, and let George take her hand.

"Do you not have a date of your own?" She teased him, as they danced together.

"I do – but I wanted to get you away from Karkaroff, he's bad news" George frowned.

"Oh George – just because he's a competing schools headmaster, does not mean he's the enemy" Charlotte argued, rolling her eyes.

"That's not what I mean – have you looked at the guy, and how he treats his students? He's horrible to them, and I've heard rumours he used to be a death eater" George continued. She rolled her eyes.

"_Used to _is the keywords here"

"Just, stay away from him, he's bad news" George said, when the dance ended, and he walked back to his date; A blonde curly haired girl.

Charlotte walked over to the teachers, who weren't dancing. She poured herself a cup of punch, and seated on one of the chairs, watching everyone dance. She noticed Ron and Harry weren't dancing either. Ginny was, however, dancing. Neville seemed to be a great dancer, knowing exactly when to do the small spins, and lifted her up.

She danced a couple of times with her brothers, and once or twice with a few 7th year boys, but other than that, she just had a laugh with Dumbledore and some of the other teachers – Dumbledore really could be funny when he was under the influence of just a little alcohol.

But when the students had thinned out in the hall, she however, felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, and saw Severus looking at her.

"Would you like to dance?" He asked her. She smiled, and took his hand. They walked out on the dance floor, and she became very aware of the hand that rested on her waist.

"Your hair looks good when it is up" He said with a tone that was a bit robotic, as though he wasn't used to compliment on looks – he probably wasn't either.

"Thank you" She smiled at him.

"Have you had a goodnight so far?" He asked her, while they danced.

"Yes, thank you – what about you?" She asked, looking into his eyes. She didn't even look at where they were dancing, how they were dancing, or if anyone were looking at them. It seemed the rest of the population had disappeared, and now they were the only ones left.

"It has been filled with hormone crazed teenagers, tipsy colleagues, and bad decorations" he said sourly.

"Oh, I'm sorry – I hope your evening get's better then" She said to him, smiling. There was the faintest ghost of a smirk on his lips.

She looked him in the eyes, and there it was again; she seemed to be getting lost in his deep brown eyes, hoping to see the tiniest flicker of light in them.

"How have your holiday been?" She asked him, averting her eyes from his.

"Like this evening – filled with hormone crazed teenagers, who have been lurking around in the hall when they shouldn't"

"Teenagers" Charlotte huffed. "Never seem to be doing anything productive"

"What about yours?" He asked, after a few seconds with silence between them.

"It's been good – though, I have to admit, I missed it here. Not the teenagers though, I can live without them, but the atmosphere, the nature, the castle and y-"She stopped her train of thoughts and sighed "And the unity of this place" she finished, her face fell slightly. It would do no good to remind herself of her feelings all the time.

"Thank you, for the gift – it's very useful" he said in a low voice. Charlotte didn't respond to him, she merely enjoyed the close space between them – it would be the last time this would happen, so she thought she'd better enjoy it.

When the dance ended, he bowed to her; he bowed his head for her, and instantly strode out of the great hall. She wasn't sure what had just happened.

Severus walked out of the great hall with long steps – he wanted to get away from _her_ as fast as his legs could carry him, without seeming as though he was running away.

The moment he had entered his quarters, he kicked the chair in front of his desk.

Why was she doing this to him – how was she doing this to him?

Why did she have to resemble Lily so much – why did he have to be entranced by the red hair, and the bright blue eyes?

Well, Lily's eyes had been Green – yes, but like Lily's eyes, they were full of compassion for those around her, and whenever she was angry they would flare up.

The softness of her skin – NO. He could not think of her like that, surely she is a pretty witch, but she is not Lily, and could not be compared to Lily.

He would just have to avoid her, avoid letting her find out whatever it was that he was feeling – which definitely not was love or anything near!

He just hadn't been with a witch in a long time – yes that was it. He just found her attractive, and nothing else – _nothing else. _

For the rest of the holiday, she tried as much to avoid Severus as possible. She didn't want him to find out she had fallen in love with him. She would have gone to Australia, had it not been for the fact she didn't have any time to do it at all. Instead she went home again, and spent New Year's Eve with her parents and

Siblings trying as much as possible to forget her feelings for Severus, but instead she found herself thinking of him, whenever she found herself in deeper thoughts.

When the holiday ended, they returned to their normal routine. But Charlotte found it very difficult to be in his company, knowing she couldn't do anything about her feelings, and just wishing and hoping they would go away.

But they didn't.

By February, she still had those feelings, perhaps even stronger. Yes, she knew he could be mean, selfish, closed off and very rude sometimes even. But she had also seen another side of him; He was loyal, funny, intelligent, good looking, his voice could drive her insane. She also knew it was wrong of her to have those feelings, but she couldn't help it. It became close to agonizing every time she was in company with him. She couldn't look him in the eyes, and whenever he was close to her, her heart would skip a beat, and she would forget how to breathe – well not entirely, but it sometimes seemed that way. She felt like she was becoming one of those bloody teenagers.

The second task was February 24th. She was standing next to the twins during the task, waiting for Harry and Ron to come up from the water. She couldn't help but glance in Severus's direction – she just couldn't help herself. But it was only fleeting looks; she couldn't risk having her eyes linger on him for more than three seconds at a time.

When the first champions arose from the water, she began to wonder what had happened to Harry and Ron, and seriously hoped they were okay.

When the time was up, and they still hadn't appeared she began to worry. But then she saw two heads, a blonde, and a red, appear from the water, followed by a black. It seemed Harry had saved Fleur Delacour's sister, even though he only should have saved Ron.

Charlotte was over Ron at once, asking him if he was alright. She still put a blanket over him when he insisted that he was fine and not cold at all – though he had Goosebumps on his arms, and like the rest they waited for Harry's points to be calculated.

He was still in first place; he was awarded points for courage, when saving both of the two victims, when he should have only saved Ron.

Charlotte walked with them back to the castle; Hermione had been dripping wet as well, as she was Viktor Krum's victim. Hermione performed heating charms on the three of teenagers, and they instantly dried up.

There was only one task left now, the task Charlotte wouldn't be around to see.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - i don't own the potterverse - the lovely J.K Rowling does.<p>

Tell me if it's good or bad - constructive criticism is always welcome :)


	9. Chapter 9

Two weeks later, one night when Charlotte entered the potions class room, Severus was grading papers again, so she came in quietly, and closed the door after her. She walked over to place her things on the desk as usual, and got ready to begin.

"Miss Weasley" He said, and she turned around to look at him. He had a frown on his face, and he appeared to be wondering about something. "I have noticed that you no longer look me in the eyes when we speak – is there a reason for that?" he asked. She stopped what she had been doing, uncertain of what to do – she couldn't tell him of her feelings, it would be too devastating to hear him say with words that he did not want her.

"Oh, um – " Lie! Do something! – Her mind screamed at her. But she was numb, as though she had been frozen in place.

"Miss Weasley, I want the truth" he said, and tried to look her in the eyes. But she kept her eyes down – god, she felt like such a teenager. It wouldn't be so difficult to tell him of her feelings, but she couldn't handle his rejection, that he would just laugh her in the face, telling her he would never want anyone like her, not to mention she was a Weasley – her brother was best friends with the boy he hated most in the world.

Before she knew it, he was standing in front of her. Her heart began to race, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. He was standing so close to her, she could feel the air from his breathing. She felt his hand on her jaw – this didn't exactly help the breathing. He gently pulled her face up, and looked her in the eyes. Immediately, she felt her mind being invaded – she knew of Occlumency, but never thought it would be prudent for her to learn it. She thought wrong. Instantly, images of past events flashed before her eyes, and she knew he saw them too. Images of dreams she'd had where she had kissed him and where he had kissed her back flashed past, the image of when she had returned Christmas day, the warm feeling around her heart, as he had said her name, the dance they had shared, the fleeting looks during the second task – everything. Her feelings, the beating of her heart, how her breath stopped when he was close to her – he saw it. He pulled out of her mind, looking horrified. She averted her eyes from him, not wanting to see how her feeling revolted him. She should probably feel offended that he had entered her mind, but she didn't. Instead she just felt like running away, and never returning.

"Why me?" He asked sounding puzzled as to how anyone could love him.

She cradled herself in her arms, still not looking at him. She didn't know how to answer him.

"I don't know" She answered. She wished she was like her brothers now – they would have been brave enough to face it. But she wasn't brave; she'd rather cower than feel his rejection hit her like a thousand stones. He didn't speak, and she noticed he stood as still as she did. She knew she couldn't make a potion; she was shaky all over her body, and just wanted to leave. "So, um I'll just leave" she muttered, turned around to gather her things, and stormed out of the class room, tears threatening to spill.

Back in the class room, Severus still couldn't grasp the idea of why a pretty young witch like her, of how a pretty young witch like her, could possibly fall in love with the bat of the dungeons, why she could possibly fall in love with him. He hadn't expected to see what he saw; he'd expected to see her talking with her brother, and Potter about him being a death eater – he knew what those two suspected him of, and though they were right, he didn't want them to cloud her vision of him.

Perhaps that would have been better, that the reason she hadn't looked him in the eyes, were because she was scared of him being a death eater, and not because she was in – in – Oh, Merlin.

He let out a frustrated yell, and kicked the desk she had been standing at.

How could he have been so blind – and here he thought she had feared him, been terrified of him.

Did she expect him to have the same feelings? Of course she did – every young woman hope a man will love her back, especially when the young woman, is one such as beautiful as she.

But did he have the same feelings? No, of course he didn't – well, she was intelligent, smart, and creative with potions, she wasn't a dunderhead like most, and she certainly was fascinating.

She was beautiful – oh, yes, he had noticed the curves of her body, her fair skin, her deep red curly hair that sometimes seemed to be everywhere – especially when she was standing over the cauldron and her hair fell down over her face only to look so in thought, he sometimes wondered if she was in a world of her own.

Her bright blue eyes, that brightened up whenever – oh, Merlin, why hadn't he realized?

But it was Lily he loved – he wouldn't betray Lily, no matter how soft those red lips looked, no matter how soft her skin had felt at the Yule ball.

Oh, this was not good. He couldn't be – no. He wouldn't fall in love with her, or anybody else.

He graded the last few papers, trying not to give every student a 'T' from his foul mood, and went to bed afterward, hoping he could keep his promise to himself.

Charlotte lay in bed later that night, thinking of everything that had happened. She longed for the apprenticeship to be over, so she could get home, and resume her normal life, without needing to hide her feelings.

She tried to fall asleep, but she couldn't. Instead she thrashed around in bed, wide awake, trying every possible sleeping position she knew. She even tried sleeping in the other end of the bed, but it didn't work. She couldn't stop thinking about him, about his reaction to her feelings.

She eventually fell asleep, at two in the morning.

But when she woke up the next morning, it hadn't been a pleasurable night. She felt like she hadn't had any sleep at all, and was very exhausted.

When she met up at the class room the following evening, she didn't say anything as she entered the class room. She just set it all up, and began making the potion.

When she had finished – both cleaning and putting the potion in the phial, she left without another word, as she feared her voice would betray her. Of course she was acting silly, but she wouldn't want to appear weak in front of him.

This went on for several weeks. She would come in, and begin the potion, and when she was done, she would live without a word. It was working for her. She tried as much to hide her feelings, trying to make it less awkward than it already was.

She could sense it, the air was so tense whenever they were in the same room, she could have cut through it with a knife, serving it on a platter, and it would still be there.

Even the twins had noticed it. They would often comment on it with remarks like "What did you do? Try to give him advice on shampooing?" or "Did he try to drown you in a potion?" Sometimes, she wished the reason was mutual hatred – hatred, she could deal with. But love – love was quite another thing.

Sure, she had experienced love before, but never with a man 11 years her senior, not a man who had been her professor, and now her teacher again.

Love was a many complicated thing.

During the next few weeks, Charlotte avoided him whenever she could – in the class room, she merely stayed silent, and whenever he would correct her on something, she would just nod, and do whatever he said.

Yes, she was acting silly, but if she could keep it like this, then at least she would have a chance to regain her normal life when the apprenticeship was over.

It did sort of work, as Severus seemed to be avoiding her as well – it was clear he hadn't expected her to be reacting the way she did – she didn't expect her to react the way she had.

On the evening before the Easter holiday, she had been meeting with Kyle – her friend who was living in Australia, but returned to England for the holiday, and they had had a few drinks at the three broomsticks.

It had been a long time since she last had been out drinking, and thinking she wouldn't even be tipsy after the 3rd drink, she and Kyle decided to drink a little more.

When she then noticed time, she walked back up to the castle, found her books and kettle after fumbling around and eventually also made her way down into the Class room.

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><p>Disclaimer - J.K Rowling owns the Potterverse - i am merely playing around with it.<p>

Thanks for the reviews - they put a smile on my face :)


	10. Chapter 10

Inside the Class room, Severus was pacing – it had been an hour since she should have been there. What if something had happened? The mark had been more apparent than it had in 13 years, but he couldn't think like that.

Damn that silly girl – Why did she have to make him so worried? Why did she have this effect on her, and why in the world couldn't he just stop thinking about her. So what if she was late? Why did he even care?

Because she could have been harmed, or gotten lost – Merlin knows how many have gotten lost at Hogwarts.

Damn that girl!

Just as he was turning his back on the door, the door opened, and he instantly turned around to see her standing there, looking a bit flustered. He instantly strode over, and looked down at her the moment she had closed the door.

"Miss Weasley" He said strictly. "Pray tell, why are you late?"

"I'm late?" She asked mildly confused.

"Yes" He answered through gritted teeth. She merely smiled at him, walked past him, and as he turned around, he saw she was sitting on the desk, crossing her legs.

He couldn't help looking at her legs – she wasn't wearing any muggle jeans like she usually did, instead she was wearing a skirt, which went to just above her knee, showing off her legs quite nicely, they appeared to be very soft – No! He couldn't be looking at her legs; he shouldn't be looking at her like that at all.

He walked over to her, and looked down at her. She merely smiled suggestively up at him. He cleared his throat.  
>"Miss Weasley, have you been drinking?" He asked, as he could smell the alcohol from a miles distance.<p>

"Just a little bit" She admitted with a grin, taking a grip on either side of his robes, and pulling him close to her.

"Miss Weasley, this is not appropriate" He said, struggling to get lose from her. But she merely tightened her grip on his robes.

"Why not – I'm leaving Hogwarts tomorrow, you know" She said, with a grin. "Why not make the most of it?"

"Because, Miss Weasley" he tried to regain the formality of the conversation "You are drunk, and do not know what you are doing"

"You're hurting my feelings" She pouted, and continued to grin. "I don't ever do anything I regret when I'm drunk"

"I have a hard time believing that" He said, just getting his arms up high enough to rub his temples. It wasn't because it wasn't was tempting – Merlin knows of the dreams he'd had about her, dreams that certainly were not appropriate giving their current relationship

Just the way her lips moved, was so very tempting. But he couldn't give in – she would regret it, and think he had taken advantage of her, which he would if he let it happened.

"Miss Weasley, you are drunk, you should return to your quarter and sleep it off" He said to her, but she merely kept grinning.

"You know Severus" She said, looking into his eyes – her bright blue eyes, were clouded "Your eyes are very pretty – you are a very handsome man" she grinned, beginning to pull him closer to her. But he finally struggled himself free from her grip – she could battle a hippogriff with that grip!

"No – Miss Weasley, you are drunk, and you should sleep it off" he said, stepping back. She jumped down from the table, and walked around him like some sort of predator – she really wasn't herself when she's drunk!

She backed him against the table, and traced a finger on his jaw, before running her hands down his arms. He shivered slightly, and found himself actually enjoying it, even though he shouldn't do that at all.

Before he knew it, his hands were behind his back, and she was tip toeing, and crushing her mouth against his. Slowly he felt like all his resistance toward her was crumbling as her lips moved against his.

As though his hands had their own accord, they moved behind her to the small of her back, and pulled her closer to him.

She had put her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her as well.

The kiss got more and more intense, as she put out her tongue, and gently licked his under lip, and without any strength left to resist her, he opened his mouth with a groan, and let her tongue dance against his own.

His left hand moved to the back of her head, his hand softly tossing around the red curls.

It seemed they had been standing there for hours when they both pulled away for air. He was breathing heavily, and was trying to regain his posture.

It seemed impossible that he was doing this, that he was kissing this beautiful young clever witch.

She rested her head against his chest; he could feel her chest rise and fall. It was first when he had gotten his own breath, that he looked down to see that her eyes were closed, and her breathing had become heavy. She was sleeping against his chest.

He didn't have any other choice, than to pick her up bridal style, and lift her to her quarters. She wasn't really that heavy, and she looked so very serene when she was sleeping, it gave a jolt in his heart to see how her curls so easily fell around her face.

He finally reached her quarters, and got her inside. He laid her down on the bed, and pulled the bed sheets over her.

She moved a little in her sleep, and a smile formed on her lips. "Severus" She whispered.

He knew he had to get out of there; he had to get away from her. He couldn't risk hurting her, he couldn't risk anything. But he couldn't help not planting a kiss on her forehead either. She moved a little, her smile only becoming brighter.

He walked out of her quarters, and back down into the class room – her things were still on the desk.

He merely put it away, before walking into his own quarters, lying in bed trying not to think about her, but it seemed like an impossible mission. The way her lips had moved with his, the way her tongue had gently licked his lip.

Oh, he knew he was doomed.

The next morning, Charlotte awoke with a thundering headache – the memories, however, came rushing back to her, and she was reminded of what had happened the night before – She had kissed him, and made a total fool of herself.

She needed to apologize, tell him that she didn't normally behave like that, and tell him that she didn't mean anything, and didn't expect anything from him.

As she swung her leg out of bed, she felt the excruciating pain of the headache, but she had to do it.

Her head felt like exploding, when she knocked on the door to his class room – she didn't know if he would actually be there, but she had to try.

"Miss Weasley" a voice came behind her. She turned on her heels, and saw him walking straight to her. His face was unreadable – she couldn't tell if he was mad at her or not.

"Seve – Professor" she corrected herself. He put a hand up, and walked past her to open the door to his class room.

"Get in" He said to her, rather forcibly. She walked into the class room, her head pounding, but she tried to ignore it. She had to get everything off of her chest. She turned to him to moment he had closed the door.

"Professor, I'm terribly sorry about what happened yesterday, I don't know what came over me – well, of course, I was drunk, but at the time I thought I could handle it, but obviously I couldn't, and I know I shouldn't have been drinking at all, especially not when I had a class with you – I just don't know what came over me, I mean I have been having certain feelings and I know they aren't appropriate, as you are my teacher and I'm your apprentice, and I have really been trying to keep it under control, but I guess since I was drunk, it took hold of me, and – " She ranted, but instead of scolding her, he held a hand up and quieted her.

He crossed his arms. "Miss Weasley, I would think it would be better for both of us to just forget about that. You were clearly drunk, and we all know we do stupid things when we are drunk.

I am disappointed, however, that you _was_ drunk, when you all too well knew that it was, not only the last day, but also could have been an important lesson. I am disappointed in you – what were you even doing out, getting drunk?" He asked, looked down at her. "As I don't see you as the type of person who gets drunk, just for the fun of it, there would have to be a good reason behind it"

She raised her eyebrows slightly – she hadn't seen that coming. "Um, I was out with my friend Kyle, who have returned to England for a while – I haven't seen him in almost a year, so we thought we would have some fun, and – well I didn't really think after that"

He stood still for a moment. "I see – well then, I won't be keeping you here any longer. You are free to go" he said.

She stood there for a moment, not really sure of what to do or say.

She turned around and picked up the cauldron and her books, before turned back to him. He was watching her, his eyes following her every step.

"I just want to say thanks then – you know, for teaching me, and not berating me about what happened yesterday" She said, gave him a small smile, before walking out the door.

She had mixed feelings when she walked out of the class room – she didn't know what to say, or do. She had expected him to yell at her, for being irresponsible, for acting like some teenager. But he didn't.

She shook it off her, thinking she should be happy, that she now was one of the healers in the world, with a special diploma in the science of potion making – in other words, she was allowed to experiment now.


	11. Chapter 11

She returned home a few hours later, after saying goodbye to everyone – Severus wasn't anywhere to be seen, and she had felt a bit hurt by that, but seeing as he probably didn't care about her at all, she sucked it up, and pretended not to be affected by it.

From hogsmeade she apparated home to her flat, Percy wasn't home, but she could see he certainly had made himself at home there – he had moved around her sofas, and her bed. Not that she minded, she had told him to just do whatever.

She didn't want to think of Severus, but somehow she found herself unable to do nothing but that. She even tried going for a walk, strolling around in Diagon Alley, but it just seemed impossible to stop thinking about him – Merlin, she hated it. She felt like a bloody teenager.

Percy didn't get home until late, and instead of falling asleep in her bed, she fell asleep on the sofa later that evening, missing out on saying 'hi' to Percy.

She was awoken by Percy the next morning. He had a cup of tea in his hand, which he handed to her, and smiled brightly at her.

"I've been promoted" He announced happily. "I'm going to Hogwarts as Mr. Crouch's assistant. It's really exciting, he lets me do a ton of stuff, and he's often sick these days, so I fill in for him instead" he beamed. Charlotte drank some of the tea, and smiled groggily at her brother "That sounds great, Perce"

"Yeah – Hey, aren't you supposed to be at Hogwarts too?" He asked.

"I finished yesterday, the day before was my last day there" she said, not wanting to mention anything that had to with Severus. She still felt a pang in her heart every time she thought of him. But she knew she would have to get over it, and once she returned to work, she would do just that.

"Congratulations" Percy smiled brightly at her. "By the way, thank you for the use of the flat, it's been much needed to get out of the house" Percy said. Charlotte nodded, understanding. "I can get back home, if you don't want me staying here, now that you're back"

"You're welcome – and no, you can get the guest room, if you want – would be nice with some company here" she smiled. He beamed at her.

"Oh, thank you" if Percy hadn't been a person of stature, he would have flung his arms around her, saying thank you over and over again. But instead, he held his hand out, and knowing Percy, Charlotte shook it with a smile.

She had to go into the hospital the very same day, as she was needed back at work as soon as possible.

So when Percy had to get to work as well, they walked together, until their ways had to part. Charlotte walked through the patient's entrance to the hospital.

She walked straight up to Simmons's office and knocked on the door. Simmons's voice sounded through the door, telling her to enter.

"Charlotte – Good to see you back" She smiled at her, motioning for her to take a seat.

"I just received the evaluation letter this morning actually" She said, looking at Charlotte with folded hands.

"Yes?" Charlotte expected the worst, Simmons didn't sound very happy. But then she smiled.

"Your overall grade is an 'O' – and he writes in the letter, that unless we have students like you, we shouldn't bother sending any apprentices in the future. He also says you have much potential as a potioneer, though he would suspect you would go past this, and stay as a healer tending to patients, instead of being in the lab"

Charlotte didn't know what to say – she hadn't expected him to say, or rather write, those things. She had expected him to let his personal feelings get in the way.

"You seem surprised by this" Simmons noted. But Charlotte shook her head.

"When can I start working again?" She asked with a small smile. Simmons studied her for a moment, before nodding.

"As soon as you can – we're in need of healers" She smiled.

Time seemed to pass quickly – after getting back to the hospital, she busied herself with the patients. She had been asked if she wanted to come down into the lab a few times, and she had gladly accepted. She had also been introduced to a new trainee, named Emily Jacobson. Emily had just finished the main courses of healing, and now needed some practical experience.

Charlotte had quickly made a friend in Emily, they had a lot in common – both wanted to be healers because they wanted to help, but didn't like the hypocrisy of the ministry.

Emily was keen on learning – she wanted to learn everything she could within the first month, but eventually learned she couldn't.

Charlotte didn't take the Easter holiday off, but she did receive the annual chocolate egg from her mum. Percy got one too, just in blue wrapping instead of Orange.

She would sometimes work overtime, but it got her mind off of things. She received a letter from Ron, telling her how things were at Hogwarts now that she was gone – it seemed Severus had gotten a lot worse, and deducted points from Gryffindor at every chance he had.

Charlotte ignored it. She couldn't think about what was going on at Hogwarts. An epidemic of dragon pox had broken out, and the hospital was swarmed with either sick children, concerned parents, or both.

They were swamped. But charlotte looked on the bright side – now Emily knew how to take care of children with dragon pox.

The Easter was quickly over, and so were the dragon pox. Normal cases, like lost limbs, kettle explosions, potion accidents, and spells gone wrong came in regularly, and it seemed things were going back to normal.

She had been out with Emily a few times – she knew all the to-be places in muggle London, as she was a muggleborn, raised in London city.

She couldn't forget about Severus though, it seemed every time she was smiling and having a good time, she came to think of how the situation would have been if he had been there with her.

Emily tried to get out of her, who she had fallen for – naming almost all of the male healers at the hospital, but in the end, gave up as she couldn't come up with more names.

But Emily was a riot, even though she tried to hitch her up with every male muggle in the clubs – Charlotte had to admit some of them were pretty handsome, but she couldn't do it – she sometimes wanted to, but she would then freeze, and look like an idiot.

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><p>Disclaimer - I don't own the potterverse J.K Rowling does.<p>

The next chapter will be longer :)


	12. Chapter 12

AN - Sorry about the little screw up, thank you to those who pointed it out - here's the real chapter 12 :)

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><p>On June 24th, she got a distress call from her mum. It was late in the evening, and she was on her way home, when her mum's patronus appeared in front of her. The lioness opened its mouth, and spoke with her mum's voice. "Come to Hogwarts hospital wing, as soon as you can – something had happened to Harry" she said, and the patronus disappeared. Charlotte disapparated the moment she entered her flat, and walked up to the castle from the gates.<p>

When she entered the hospital wing, she was immediately crushed by her mum's hug. When she pulled away, she could see on her mum's face that she had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and red. "What's happened?" Charlotte asked. She noticed Bill, the twins, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione was sitting around a hospital bed.

"You-know-who is back" her mum trembled and a tear fell from her eyes. Charlotte looked toward Bill who nodded.

"But that's not possible – how is that possible?" She asked. Her mum shook her head, and walked back to the hospital bed. She looked at her family, who all seemed in great distress.

"Harry saw him – he's back" Bill confirmed. Charlotte walked over to them, and saw Harry sleeping in the hospital bed.

"What happened – why is Harry lying in a hospital bed" She pointed to the bed.

Ron shivered, as Ginny and Hermione were holding each other, and even the twins looked grim. She turned to Bill.

"Please, tell me – what happened?" She said to them. Bill told her the story of how the triwizard champions had to get the cup from the maze the teachers had set up. They had put up some hindrances along the way, but never had they realized that the person they believe to be mad-eye was in fact the death eater Barty crouch Jr. who had been playing mad-eye the whole year by using polyjuice potion. Crouch had the real mad-eye stored away in a big container standing in his office all the year, and no one knew the better. But Crouch had imperius Viktor Krum to get rid of the contestants so that harry could get the cup. But he hadn't realized Harry would share the 1st place with Cedric Diggory, so when they both took hold of the cup, they were transported to a graveyard – the place where Voldemort returned. The moment he had returned, he'd killed Cedric, and almost killed Harry as well, but Harry escaped, and took Cedric's body with him.

However, it was first when mad-eye had dragged Harry off, that they realized it wasn't mad-eye, but Crouch.

Charlotte didn't know what to do. Voldemort was back, and had already killed a student.

After Bill had told her the story, a shabby looking man walked into the room from one of the joining rooms, he stopped up in his tracks, as he saw her looking at him. At first she didn't recognize him, but at further glance – she pulled out her wand, and was about to point it at him, when -

"No – no – Charlotte, he's not a murderer" Ron said instantly, as he had realized she had seen him. It was Sirius Black. Charlotte looked from black – who stood completely still, to Ron. "He's innocent, he's never murdered anyone in his life – it was Peter Pettigrew who killed all those people – and it was Peter Pettigrew who made sure you-know-who is back – Sirius is the good guy!"

"Who is Peter Pettigrew?" She asked, confused as ever.

"A rat" Sirius Black spoke.

"You know my rat Scabbers?" She nodded "Well, last year we found out he's an animagus – Peter Pettigrew is Scabbers. He turned into a rat after he had blown up the street, cutting off one of his fingers, and framed Sirius for it" Ron said, still frantic. She looked at her mum, to see if she should believe it and her mum gently nodded.

"Oh – well then, pardon that I almost had you sent back into the wall" she apologized, putting away her wand.

"No worries – happened to me quite a lot this evening" He looked at her mum, who looked a bit sorry. "I don't really blame you" he grinned, and walked over to them.

"I'm Charlotte Weasley" She introduced herself.

"Sirius Black, but you already know that" he grinned. She took a seat next to bill, and looked at the sleeping form of Harry. His scar was more red than usual. Suddenly they heard raised voices outside the hospital wing, and the spot where Sirius stood before, there now was a shabby looking dog. This explained a lot, in Charlotte's opinion.

"They will wake him up if they don't shut up" Ginny muttered, and Ron nodded.

"What are they shouting about? Nothing else can have happened, can it?" Hermione wondered. Charlotte, bill and their mum were on their feet immediately, looking at the big door.

"That's fudge's voice – and Minerva McGonagall's voice isn't it? But what are they arguing about?"

"Regrettable, but all the same Minerva" the minister's voice was loud.

"You should never have brought it inside the castle" McGonagall yelled. "When Professor Dumbledore finds out – "In that moment the doors swung open, and the ministry walked in with large steps, determined toward Charlottes mum – at his heels were McGonagall, and to Charlotte's big regret, Severus Snape.

"Where is Dumbledore?" the minister demanded.

"He's not here" She replied angrily. "This is a hospital wing, minister, don't you think you should – " the doors opened again, and this time, it was Dumbledore who walked in.

"What has happened?" He asked, looking from McGonagall to fudge "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised of you, I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch – "

"There's no need for that, the minister has seen to that!"

"When we told Mr. Fudge we had caught the death eater responsible for tonight events" Severus said in a low voice. Hearing him speak again, even though it was because of such a grave reason, sent shivers down her spine. But she stayed focused, and looked at the minister. "He seemed to feel his personal safety was in question. He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him up to the castle he brought it up to the office where Barty crouch – "

"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" McGonagall fumed "I told him you would never allow dementors to put a foot inside the castle, but –"

"My dear, woman" fudge roared "as minister of magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me, when interviewing a possibly dangerous –"

"The moment that – that thing entered the room" she raised her voice louder than fudge, pointing at fudge, trembling all over "it swooped down on crouch, and – and –"

Charlotte looked straight ahead at the minister. She had personally seen people who had been victims of the dementor kiss. Numb people, only the shell of them left. It was better to have sent them to Azkaban, than giving them the kiss.

"And what a loss!" the minister said sarcastically.

"Minister, Crouch cannot give testimony of why he killed all those people now" Dumbledore sound agitated – Charlotte had never seen him like that before.

"But we already know why he killed those people! He was a raving lunatic!"

"He was under Lord Voldemort's instructions" Dumbledore billowed "Their deaths were merely by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been restored to his body"

Fudge blinked, and seemed as though someone had just swung a heavy object at his head.

"You-know-who returned? Preposterous, Come now, Dumbledore… "

"As Minerva and Severus doubtless have told you, we heard Barty crouch confess. Under the influence of veritaserum, he told us how he was smuggled out of Azkaban, and how Voldemort – learning his continued existence from Bertha jorkins – went to free him from his father and used him to capture harry. The plan has worked, I tell you. Crouch helped Voldemort return" Dumbledore said, but fudge still wouldn't understand. He went into denial. Sirius, in his dog shape, growled at the minister, and was even baring teeth at him.

"You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who… well… "

"You've been reading Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge?" Harry's voice sounded, and Charlotte jumped. She noticed her mother, brothers, and Hermione did the same. They all hadn't realized harry was awake. Charlotte turned to look at Harry; he was glaring at Fudge.

"And if I have?" Fudge's face was red "If I have discovered that you have been keeping certain facts about the boy quiet? And a parselmouth, eh? And having funny turns all over the place- "

"I assume you are referring to the pains Harry has been experiencing in his scar?" said Dumbledore.

Fudge kept ignoring their statements – even when Harry named those of whom he had seen at the graveyard.

Charlotte was horrified – the minister couldn't possibly be serious? He couldn't possibly be so daft, that he couldn't see the evidence when it was clear as the sky, in front of him?

"Now see here, Dumbledore" Fudge was waving an angry finger at Dumbledore, after they once again, had tried to make him see the facts. "I have given you free reigns over this school – more than anyone else would have. I have not agreed with all of your decisions, but I have kept quiet. There are many who wouldn't have let you hire werewolves, or let you keep hagrid. Many who wouldn't have let you teach the students without reference to the ministry. But if you're going to work against me - "

"The only one whom I intend to work against" Dumbledore said keeping his voice calm. "Is Lord Voldemort, if you intend on fight him, then we remain in the same side"

"He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be – "

Severus walked toward fudge, arm outstretched, and pulling back up his left sleeve of his robe as he walked; he struck out his left arm at Fudge who looked in horror.

"There" he said harshly. Charlotte looked on with surprise – he was a death eater. That was something she certainly not had expected, though she had heard the rumours while she was in school, but she had never believed it. She looked at Severus with wide eyes.

"There. The dark mark, it is not as clear as it was, when it burned black an hour ago, but you can still see it. Every death eater had it burned into him, it was a very of distinguishing him, and for the dark lord to summon him. This dark mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too – why do you think he fled tonight? We both felt the dark mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff feared the dark lords vengeance; he betrayed too many of his fellow death eaters to be sure of a welcome into the fold again" at this, the minister stepped back even further than he had already done. He looked at the mark on Severus's left arm with disgust.

"I don't know what your staff is playing at, Dumbledore, but I have heard enough. I have no more to add, and I will be in touch with you tomorrow, to discuss the running of this school. I must return to the ministry" Fudge had almost reached the doors, when he turned around, and walked over to Harry's bed. He gave him a sack full of coins, and left. Dumbledore turned to the group around Harry's bed.

"There's much work to be done" he said, and looked to Charlotte's mother "Am I right to assume I can count on you and Arthur?"

Charlotte looked at her mother – she was white as a ghost, but nodded.

"Of course you can"

"then I need to send a message to Arthur" Dumbledore said "All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed in to contact those at the ministry who are not as short sighted as the minister"

"I'll go to dad" Bill said, standing up "I'll go now"

"Excellent" Dumbledore said "tell him what has happened. Tell him I will be in direct contact with him soon. He will need to be discreet, however. If fudge thinks I'm interfering at the ministry – "  
>"Leave it to me" Bill said. He dropped a hand on Harry's shoulder, kissed their mum on the cheek, and gave a fleeting look at Charlotte, before pulling on his cloak and walking out of the hospital wing.<p>

"Minerva" Dumbledore said, turning to McGonagall "I want to see Hagrid in my office as soon as possible. Also – if she will consent to come – Madame Maxime"

McGonagall nodded, and left without a word.

"Poppy – would you be so kind and go down to Professor Moodys office where I think you will find a house elf called winky, in certain distress? Do what you can for her, and take her down into the kitchens, where I'm certain Dobby will look after her for us"

"Very – very well" she said, and left as well.

"And now, I think it is time for two of our numbers, to recognize each other for what they are, Sirius, if you please?"

The shabby dog, Charlotte knew to be Sirius Black, jumped down from the bed, and transformed into a human. Severus didn't look the least bit startled, by the sight of an assumed mass murderer.

"Him!" Severus snarled, looking at Sirius with much animosity "What is he doing here?"

"I invited him – I think it is time, you put your hatred for each other behind you, so that we all can work together in this"

Charlotte noticed how both of them, reluctantly, agreed, and by Dumbledore's request, shook hands.

"Now, I have work for both of you – Sirius, I want you to alert Remus lupin, Arabella fig, Mundungus Fletcher – the old crew. Lay low at the Lupin's for a while"

He nodded, and was about to leave. Harry seemed to want him to stay. Charlotte didn't understand this, so she turned, puzzled, to Ron.  
>"He's Harry's godfather" Ron said, and it made sense to Charlotte. But Sirius left, and Dumbledore turned to Severus. "You know what I must ask you to do"<p>

Severus nodded, and left the ward as well – Charlotte realized what it was Dumbledore wanted him to do. She got up from the chair, and ran after him.

"Severus" She yelled at him. He stopped up in his tracks, and turned around. She came to stop in front of him, her eyes still wide.

"What?" He gritted his teeth

"You're not going to Voldemort, are you?" She asked instantly.

"Don't use that name" He said still through gritted teeth "And I don't see how that is any of your business"

"It's not. Just – just be safe, alright?" She closed the space between them, and leaned up to plant a kiss on his cheek, before turning on her heels, not believing she had just done that, and walked back to the Hospital wing.

When she entered, Dumbledore was looking at her with a twinkle in his eyes. He was smiling at her, as she walked over to Harry and the others.

"Now Charlotte – I know this will be too much asking" Dumbledore began "But as you are a healer, and not working here at Hogwarts, I might have use of you as well, can I count on you?"

"Of course you can – whatever you need, just ask" She smiled back at him, and sat back down next to her mum, who laid an arm around her. Charlie had disappeared as well, but the rest of the Weasley family was still sitting around Harry's bed.

"Thank you" He smiled at her mum "I'm glad I can count on your family" he added to her.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - i don't own anything in the potterverse.<p>

- I'd like to pay my respects to those in Norway. Terrorism is a horrible thing, and to have it so close, is just very unreal.

The victims of the bombings in Oslo, and victims on Utøya Island are in my thoughts - #PrayForNorway.


	13. Chapter 13

A week after the school vacation had begun, the Weasley family was staying at the new headquarters, of the order of the phoenix, Grimmauld place 12. Charlotte had given her flat lease up to Percy, as it would be easier to stay with her family at Grimmauld place. Percy was not convinced of what Harry had said, and was convinced that Harry had lied to them. This had led to a bigger argument, where Charlotte had said her opinion of his beloved ministry to him, and that made a turning point for the two. She was sad it had to end that way, but at least this meant she could spent more time with her family.

She, like the rest of the Weasley family with the exception of Bill who had leased a flat in Diagon alley, was staying at the headquarters, better known as Sirius Blacks house.

She had a room on the 3rd floor landing, whereas the others had on the 2nd floor landing. The only other person to have a room on the 3rd floor landing was Sirius, who also hid a hippogriff in his room. She got to know him a lot more than she ever would have thought, as they both had sleepless nights, and spent them talking in the kitchen.

He told her of when he was in school, and how he was best friends with James Potter, Remus Lupin, and the traitor who had rolled the ball, Peter Pettigrew. How he had been the best man at James and Lily Potters wedding, and how he had always counted on them. To be betrayed by your best friend, was something Charlotte never hoped happened to her – though she was fairly sure, she'd want to kill the person as well.

He asked her questions about how her school days had been, and why she had chosen to be a healer, how it felt being in such a big family.

One night, they were sitting across from each other, each with one mug of tea between their hands, as they were talking. Charlotte had been wondering of one thing.

"If you don't mind me asking – how was it in Azkaban?" she asked carefully, watching his expression changed. His eyes became haunted, and he looked down into the table.

"Horrible – you never learn to deal with the dementors, gliding past the cell door every day, or of the tormented screams of the other people in there. I reckon the only reason why I survived, was because I knew I didn't betray them – though I as good as had. I was the one who suggested changing to Peter in the last minute; I didn't think anyone would think Peter was the secret keeper. At the time it seemed clever, but then I learned of what a rat he was. It isn't a good thought, but it kept me sane" he said, and smiled at her.

"I don't approve of Azkaban. I have had patients coming from there – one time, they brought in a girl, I don't think she was older than 16 or 17, who had accidentally harmed a muggle. She was sent to Azkaban for a year, but she never came out. One of the dementors sucked her soul out, and they brought her body to us, so we could deal with it. It was horrible. There was nothing we could do" she looked at him, and smiled "I'm glad you didn't end up like that – at least now, Harry have someone who remembers his parents, who is somehow connected to him"

He gave her a faint smile. "Thanks – though I must say, you and your family have taken good care of him – I'm very grateful for that"

Charlotte chuckled. "Yeah, my mum almost considers him her own. If she could, she would adopt him, and name him Harry Weasley"

"Oh Merlin, I'm glad she can't adopt him, or call any of your siblings Harry" he laughed. She smiled at him.

"You know, this is actually kind of nice – I haven't had anyone to talk to the last 14 years" he added.

"It is nice – you're a better person than they give you credit for"

"Well, they think I'm a death eater, Voldemort's right hand, or whatever it is they're calling me nowadays" he smirked.

"Well, they're lunatics, we've established that as much now" she chuckled, cupping her mug.

"I've always known that – never really been a fan of the ministry"

"Me neither – all the injuries, and stuff they cover up, it's terrible really. Corrupt to the bone, the bunch of them"

"Politicians" he huffed and Charlotte laughed. They both eventually walked up to bed again, pushing each other on the stair. She had really become to like him – he was like a long lost friend to her, and it was as though they had reunited after a long period of time.

The next morning, she went into the hospital one of the first things. Emily had been waiting for her; she wanted to know why she hadn't been working the past few days, and what was going on. Charlotte, unfortunately, couldn't tell her what had happened, as she most likely wouldn't believe her.

There weren't many people waiting that morning, so Charlotte could get herself a cup of tea, before she started the day. She had received a notice from Simmons, that she wanted Charlotte to take Emily down into the lab, and show her around, and introduce her to those working in the lab on a daily basis.

"So, this is Tim Jobbs – he's our lead potioneer" Charlotte introduced Emily to a tall man, with brown hair, blue eyes, squared jaw, he used glasses.

"Hello Tim – nice to meet you" Emily shook his hand, and he smiled at her, before turning to Charlotte.

"Will she be working down here?" He asked her.

"No, Tim, she will not be working down here, I'm merely showing her around" his face fell slightly.

"Oh – well carry on then"

Tim – charlotte had noticed, had been having a crush on Emily since Emily started at the hospital. He had seen her walking around the halls, and in the cafeteria. He had asked Charlotte on various occasions things about the girl, and if she might be interested in him. So charlotte took this opportunity to let the two meet on a casual basis.

"Emily" Charlotte said, turning to her friend. "Would you, if you had the chance, go on a date with Tim here? He's well mannered, polite, and funny – he knows some great jokes, very charismatic, and he knows his way around Muggle London"

Emily's face brightened up – she was a very outgoing girl. "Sure – I mean, if that is what Tim wants"

"I do – I mean, I would be happy to" Tim's face, like Emily's, brightened up and looked at Emily hopeful.

"Great then – meet up later, and plan the details" Charlotte grinned, moving on to the next lab rat. "Now here, we have Guinevere, she's the person to talk to if you have a patient who's been bitten by a dragon or another poisonous creature – like a snake or something in the poisonous department. She's also from Australia, so don't be surprised when you hear her accent" Charlotte said, pointing to a woman who had her blonde hair tied in a knot on the back of her head. She turned to the two, and smiled at them.

"So you're Emily? Simmons been talking a lot about you" Guinevere said, still smiling with a sugar coated smile. "So nice to meet you" Emily smiled back, but Charlotte made her move on.

"Now, don't get too friendly with her – she's as poisonous as the poison she cures" Charlotte whispered to her, moving on to another woman, with short black hair and olive skin.

"This is Penny – she's the girl to talk to if you have problems reproducing brains, or organs" Penny merely smiled at the two, and went back to work. They moved on, onto the next group of people, all of whom were wearing yellow coats instead of blue. They were inside another room than those they had just met, and on top of the door was there a sign that read 'experimental department'

"Those are the special department. They deal with memory loss, and experimental potions – those are the ones I'm a part of, you later have to chose which department you want to be part of too" Charlotte said, and they entered the room. The first person they encountered was a blonde, stubby shaven man, who was a bit shorter than the average man, but still taller than Charlotte and Emily, it was apparent that he was aging, as he had wrinkles on his forehead, and around his eyes. "This is Henry, he's the department leader, everything that goes in, goes through him – if you have a question about anything, he's the guy to ask, the man knows everything" Charlotte whispered to her. They walked over to him, and watched what he was doing.

"Henry" Charlotte called. Henry looked up, first puzzled, but then grabbed the glasses that were lying on the counter, and then smiled at them.

"Hello Charlotte – when are you coming to work down here permanently, didn't you finish your apprenticeship already?" He asked.

"I did, but I want to work with patients for a little while, before turning into a sun avoiding lab rat" She grinned at him.

"Oh, you're hurting my feelings" his eyes focused on Emily "Who's this lovely young lady?"

"This is Emily Jacobson – she's here for a tour on the lab"

"Simmons wanted that?"

"You know it" Charlotte grinned, and they moved on. The next person they saw, was a younger man, but still older than Charlotte, who had black short hair, brown eyes, and a few wrinkles here and there. "This is Russell Peterson – he's a specialist on brain potions, he's trying to find a potion that can help long term memory loss, so he's a very busy man" they didn't want to disturb him, so they moved on to the last person in the room. A girl with brown hair, and green eyes, she wore glasses, and was writing something in a note book.

"This is Juno Thomas – she's mostly experimenting with dark curses, poisons - trying to find antidotes, and cures for them, very clever girl, she is" Charlotte said. Juno looked up, and smiled at them.

"Charlotte – is this Emily?" Charlotte nodded. "Simmons told me about her – I hope you choose this department, it's a lot more fun than the others. We actually do something that can help our future here" Juno was very competitive. She saw the other departments as competition, and always wanted to be first everywhere – first in the morning, and first in the cafeteria. She was very effective though, she had taken up knowledge in China, where they use many experimental herbs, and ingredients.

When they came up to the patients again, charlotte had to take care of a patient, who had been in an accident with his teapot. Steam was coming out of his ears, and his nose had turned into a spout. Charlotte had to take care of that, and with a few incantations in the examining room, he was normal again. He thanked her, and Charlotte lectured him on the use of a teapot, reminding him they shouldn't be transformed into getting legs.

Emily returned a woman's ears back to normal size, after her toddler had resized them to be the size of an elephants, while Charlotte took care of another spell incident. It was minor cases and nothing heavy – the daily life of St. Mungos.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - i don't own the potterverse, J.K Rowling does.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

When she returned to Grimmauld place later that evening, she found a pink haired witch, she remembered from Charlie's year, sitting at the table talking with Remus and Charlotte's mum.

"Hey guys" Charlotte said, coming into the kitchen.

"Hey Charlotte – you remember Tonks? She was in Charlie's year at Hogwarts, just in Hufflepuff" Her mum said to her, as Charlotte walked over and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Sure I remember – you caused a real havoc when I was head girl" Charlotte grinned. Tonks laughed.

"Oh yeah – what was it? Oh, that's right, I transformed one of the plated armour guards into running after one of the 1st years" she said with a laugh. Remus shot the pink haired witch a curious glance, and a smile was twitching at his lips.

"Yeah – that 1st year was so frightened, he didn't want to come out of the closet, until peeves appeared inside it, chasing him out – I'm positive that kid is scared for life" Charlotte laughed, her mum giving her a disapproving look.

"Well, I'm going to take a shower – been working since seven this morning" She added to Tonks and Remus. She walked upstairs, on the first landing meeting Ron, Hermione and Ginny who all became suspiciously quiet when she walked by, on the second she met the twins, who both seemed very keen on hiding what they were doing, and on the third, while opening the door to her room, the door to Sirius's room went up, and Sirius stopped up in the doorway about to go out.

"Hey – did you just come home?" He asked.  
>"Yeah – just going to take a shower now, before dinner – don't want people to confuse the good smell of the food, by my weird hospital smell" She laughed. He smiled at her.<p>

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind – but best take a shower" he closed the door to his room. "See you downstairs" he said, beginning to walk downstairs.

Charlotte walked into the room, grabbed some casual clothes – jeans, and a tank top, before walking into the joining bathroom.

She took her time in there, wanting to get the smell completely off of her. When she had just come out of the shower, she heard knocking on her door. Thinking it was her mum, she walked out, with only a towel around her, her hair dripping wet, to open the door. It wasn't her mum though, it was Sirius.

"Um" he said, first looking at her, and then averting his eyes, clearly trying not to look at her. "Molly says dinner is ready"

"Okay – um, I just need to get some clothes on and such" She replied, feeling her cheeks getting red.

"Yes – right, well, I'll just go down again" he said, and Charlotte closed the door. She breathed out a laugh, and began drying herself.

When she came down into the kitchen, the table was filled with red haired people - mostly teenagers, as Bill would be working late. Sirius offered her a seat next to him, pulled out the chair for her. She said a quiet 'thank you' and seated. Tonks was sitting across from her, next to Ginny who was looking at Charlotte with a curious look.

Her mum gave her a plate full of food – too much food in her opinion.

"You need to eat some more, you're all bones" Her mum said, after charlotte had complained over the capacity of food on her plate.

"No, mum, I'm not" She really wasn't – it wasn't that she was overweight or anything, but she did have curves, and in her opinion just the right size – neither too big, nor too small. She would hate being one of those girls who would break if they were touched.

"I'm agreeing with Charlotte here – I think she's just right" Sirius said looking at Charlotte while saying so, earning a few curious looks from around the table.

"Well then – Eat what you can, Charlotte" Her mum said, rather crossly and had a stern facial expression.

"So, what's it like?" Tonks asked her during the dinner.

"What's what like?"

"Being a healer – saving lives everyday"

"Oh – uh, I actually don't do much life saving, it's more the daily life things – spells gone wrong, and all that"

"Oh – I had the impression healers always save lives" Tonks's face fell. Charlotte chuckled.

"We do, but not every day – we need to cure the minor injuries as well"

"Oh, well you still save lives then" Tonks grinned.

"What about you – you must have chased many wizards and witches in your time as an auror" Charlotte asked, eating a bit of the food she had placed in front of her.

"Well, I'm not really up-there yet, but I've been on a few missions" Tonks said brightly.

"Must be exciting – I know someone who's an auror too, she lives in Australia, and she says there's a lot of paperwork" She inquired, noticing how both Remus and Sirius followed their conversation.

"Oh, there is – that's what we spend most of our time doing, If not that, then investigating a case from the office" Tonks said, biting into the bread she had lying next to the plate.

"Then our jobs aren't as different as I thought" Charlotte grinned.

When they had finished eating, Tonks and Charlotte walked into the living room, and found a game of wizard chess. They were both horrible at it, and Ron, who had been watching, kept telling them what to do – of course they didn't listen. They found it hilarious, when the chess pieces would unite against them, and begin to shout they were daft, and should never consider playing the game again. They had a good time, until her mum came and broke them up, telling the teenagers to go to bed – of course they would rather stay up with Charlotte, and the rest, but their mum could be pretty convincing.

Charlotte eventually had to conquer too, she had to get up early the next morning, and it couldn't help being sleepy.

Charlotte followed tonks to the door, and they said goodnight.

This became the routine in the house. She almost never had time for the meetings as she often worked late, just coming home when the dinner had finished. But she always made time to talk with Tonks – she was a really nice person, and Charlotte loved talking with her. They spoke about mostly everything – job, the order, the ministry, clothes, and music – the things girls talk about.

She only just saw fleeting looks of Severus, normally when she would come home just after the meetings had ended, and he was on his way out. She would smile at him, feeling her insides churn, when he on the rare occasion would give a small twitchy smile back at her.

Emily and Tim was a couple, one month after they had been on a date and Emily couldn't stop talking about how wonderful he treated her, and how he wasn't her typical type – she normally went for the bad boyish attitude, and hadn't had any success with that in the past.

One evening, in the end of July, she made it home in time to attend the meeting, even though she knew they soon ended. Dumbledore smiled brightly at her, as she entered. She quickly seated next to Sirius, and looked expectantly up at Dumbledore.

"As you all now, Harry's birthday is only a few days away" He said, and Charlotte remembered that Harry's birthday was July 31st. "But I have decided not to move him here yet – it's best if we push it forward as much as we can, just to be sure the connection between Harry and Voldemort, is a one way thing"

"Oh come on – we can't move him here, until after his birthday, and we're not allowed to send him any letters" Sirius complained "Don't you think Harry would want word that we actually still know he exists?"

"I'm sure he does, but this is for his own good – once we know what we deal with, harry will understand" Dumbledore spoke calmly.

"Yeah, right – and in the mean time, he'll be stuck with his stuck up relatives, who treats him like a house elf" Sirius fumed. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and he looked at Dumbledore defiantly.

"Sirius, I will not discuss this with you – harry won't be moved until the right moment. Now, we need someone to guard the weapon on Tuesday, and Wednesday" Tonks, mad-eye, and Kingsley raised their hands, and Dumbledore noted it. Charlotte had heard of the weapon, or rather prophecy that had been made about Voldemort and harry back during the first war. She hadn't heard the entire thing, but she knew that if Voldemort were to acquire it, they would be truly screwed.

She fleetingly looked down at the end of the table, and saw Severus in deep thought. His brows were wrinkled, and he had his hands folded neatly under his chin. She had seen this look on him once or twice, when she explained the effects from the potions she made at Hogwarts.

He looked up, and their eyes met. Again, she felt her stomach churn, and wanted nothing more than to get out of the room – it was getting ridiculous. She was an adult, for merlins sake, and so was he.

_But he doesn't want you_ a nasty voice said in her head.

Dumbledore's voice tore her out of her thoughts again, and she saw him, and most of the other members were getting ready to leave, Severus stood up, and made it past all the order members. She walked after him out into the entrance hall

"Severus – "She said.

"Miss Weasley" He said in a low tone. He turned around, and looked down at her.

"Severus, I know that you don't like me" He closed his eyes as she said it "And I should respect that. I do respect that. But can't we just be friends – or something?" She spoke in quiet tone, voices from the kitchen filling the entrance hall.

"Charlotte – "He started, his eyes still closed, and he brought a hand up to rub his temples.

"Can we just start from fresh? Just forget whatever has happened, forget that I even came to Hogwarts this past year, and just start over? "She breathed out. "Just start over as being friends, instead having this avoiding each other thing going on?"

He opened his eyes, and looked down at her. A small smirk playing at his lips. "Don't you ever get tired of being blunt?"

She grinned at him "No – it makes me different from other people, who are scared that their opinion will be frowned upon" She looked him in the eyes momentarily, before they heard footsteps, and Dumbledore's voice saying 'They should be headed back to Hogwarts – Poppy had a great new trick to show him, and he wouldn't want to miss that'

"Write to me, will you? I hardly ever get around to these meetings" She smiled at him. He was about to open his mouth, when Dumbledore walked up behind Charlotte.

"Ah, Charlotte – come to show us out of the door?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes. She smiled at him

"I have – I thought it prudent, as I haven't been around as much"

"It's very kind of you, either way" He smiled at her. She gave Severus a last look, before going back into the kitchen, and seated next to Sirius, who looked at her curiously.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - i don't own the potterverse, J.K Rowling does - and thank god for that.<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

Her mum asked if they wanted to stay for dinner, but they all declined. Tonks and Remus stayed though, much to Charlotte's joy.

The younger Weasleys joined them in the kitchen, as their mum had collected them, telling them the meeting was over, and they could come down. Charlotte thought it was a silly thing not to let them join – Especially Ron and Hermione, but she wasn't the boss of them.

"So Charlotte, do you get vacation this year?" Tonks asked her, leaning in over the table. Charlotte grinned. She had actually managed to get three weeks' vacation from the 10th of august to September 2nd.

"Three weeks – very lucky though, and only because I managed to make a deal with one of my colleagues"

"Nice – you planning on going somewhere then, or just stay here, and get depressed and involved in the order?" Tonks grinned, and Remus grimaced next to her. Charlotte chuckled.

"Well, I think I'll stay here, get depressed and wear sweatpants all the time"

"Sounds like a good plan – all though, we have to go out sometime, I know this brilliant place called the 'in' – yes I know, cheesy name, but it's really good" She grinned.

"Alright, I'll look forward to that then" Charlotte grinned back. She noticed how Sirius and Remus were looking at each other, and slapped Sirius playfully on the arm. "Don't mock us" She said with a laugh.

"We didn't say anything!" Sirius defended himself with a grin.

"But you were thinking it" Tonks added, and tapped a finger at her head.

"What are you, mind readers?" Sirius mused, grinning. Charlotte grinned back.

"There are a lot of things about us, which will surprise you"

"Charlotte, can you help me set the table?" Her mum asked her, rather forced.

"Uh, sure mum" Charlotte rose from the chair, and walked over to her mum. She handed her a stack of plates, telling her where to put them, while having a very stern expression on her face.

She started from one end, and ended up with Sirius, who smiled brightly at her, and took the last two plates, and placed one in front of him, and the other next to him, on Charlottes place.

It seemed her mum didn't quite get the effect she had wanted from Charlotte, as Charlotte sat back down next to Sirius.

She looked back at her mum, who pursed her lips – she did not look happy, about Charlotte sitting next to Sirius. But Charlotte didn't really care about that – She liked Sirius – he had turned into something of a friend for her.

When the dinner was over, Tonks and Charlotte decided to go for a walk, leaving everyone back at grimmauld place.

"So, what do you think of Remus?" Tonks asked, when they walked through a park nearby.

Charlotte shrugged "I think he's a great man – a bit quiet, but very kind" she eyed tonks "How come?"

Her cheeks became red "I think I might like him" She said, stopping up. Charlotte stopped up as well, and looked at Tonks.

"Are you sure?" Charlotte asked her, and they started walking again.

"Well, yeah. Every time I see him, I want to impress him, I want him to notice me in a good way, and not the clumsy, take-pity-on-me way" She explained, waving her arms around while doing so, as if those made her explain better. Charlotte smiled at her.

"You really do sound infatuated"

"Oh, bugger – what if he doesn't like me?" She said, biting her lip. "I mean, he's 13 years older than me, and probably don't think me mature enough for him – what if he doesn't like the way I change my hair colour? Or my clumsiness?"

"I don't think he's thinking like that" charlotte said, putting her hands into the pocket of her jeans. She turned her head to look at tonks, who had a puzzled expression. "He's been looking at you a few times, and do you remember when he told you he liked the pink? He really meant it, so I don't think he doesn't like your metamorphmagus ability. As for your clumsiness, well everyone have faults – I tend to be sarcastic, I have a short temper, I'm rash, and I'm always falling for the wrong guys" charlotte chuckled.

"Well, you and Sirius are getting along quite well – he doesn't seem like a bad guy" She smirked, nudging Charlotte on the side.

"There's nothing going on between us – he's just not my type of guy, though he has become something sort of a friend to me"

Tonks shrugged "I guess – you two would make a hell of a couple though" she grinned at Charlotte.

When they came back, Sirius and Remus were sitting in the living room, playing wizards chess. They even didn't seem to notice that they came in. Tonks looked at Charlotte with a grin, as she sneaked over behind Remus, Sirius finally noticing they had come in but kept quiet, Tonks walked over and made Remus jump up with fright.

"Don't ever do that again" Remus said slowly. Tonks merely grinned, and walked over in front of the sofa and seated next to Remus. Charlotte walked over to sit in the arm chair.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Remus asked, as he looked down at the chess board.

"We did – so, who's winning?" Tonks asked, looking down at the chess board as well.

"Right now, he is" Sirius said, biting his lip. His face was completely displaced with concentration, and his usual grin was gone. He really took chess very seriously, without the pun.

"Well the table could still turn" Remus said without specifying, but apparently the tables did just turn. Sirius had seen his chance, and now had Remus's king in check. Sirius turned to grin at the others, before turning his full attention back to the chess board.

In the end, Remus won the game, and Sirius, being a sore loser, accused him of cheating. Tonks had to drag Remus out of the house, and Charlotte had to drag Sirius up to his room, to get the insanity to stop – Sirius had tried to explain, very detailed, of the possibilities of cheating, while Remus had, also very detailed, explained the story of how it was impossible to cheat in Wizards chess, and that Sirius just was a very sore loser.

At first she hadn't expected Severus to write to her, as he had been very specific he didn't want anything to do with her, but when she one day received a letter from him, she couldn't stop smiling. It was short, and it only read that he wanted to accept that they could be friends, and nothing more. She kept it for herself, knowing the others, especially her siblings, wouldn't approve that their sister – _Gasp_, was friends with their horrid bat of the dungeons, Potions Professor – they certainly wouldn't approve of her feelings for him either.

On august 5th Charlotte came home late – she had heard of the dementor attack on Harry and his cousin, and naturally she was worried about it. Dementors couldn't go places, unless they had been sent there by the ministry.

So either the ministry already had the dementors out of control, or they simply did not like Harry at all and wanted him rid from this very world.

When she entered Grimmauld – silently, she could hear they were discussing in the kitchen, and the meeting had already begun. She thought she heard quick shuffling of feet coming from upstairs, but she shrugged it away, thinking it was probably Kreacher who was moping around.

When she entered the kitchen, she apologized for being late, and seeing the only seats that were vacant, were at the end of the table, she quickly moved past the others, and seated next to Severus – she knew he wouldn't like it, but if he had something to say to her, at least he would speak to her then.

She didn't say anything, but merely listened in.

From what she could tell, Sirius wanted Harry to be a part of the order, whereas Dumbledore and most of the others didn't.

Charlotte didn't really think Harry should be a part of the order either, as he should have the chance to grow up as normally as possible – also why she didn't want Ron or Ginny in the order. The twins were legally of age, so they should be allowed in.

But their mum was very protective of them, so she wouldn't allow them in either.

"Charlotte" Dumbledore said, and Charlotte was torn out of her thoughts. She smiled at him.

"Yes?"

"I would like it if you could stand ready at the hospital, the days were we are guarding you-know-what, if there were to arise any complications, and the need for a healer, I would want somebody I trust to heal up the ones who have been hurt" He said, and she nodded.

"I'll be sure to keep my ears out"

"Good" he smiled at her, before turning to the others, asking who would take the shifts that week.

When the meeting was over, which wasn't long after she had arrived, she followed Severus out to the door like she usually did, covering it by following the others out as well. She said goodbye to the others, just in time to see Ron and Harry stop up on the stair, both of whom were looking to Severus – Harry with a mild disgust.

She shook her head at them, and walked into the kitchen again, where her mum was beginning to make dinner. Several people from the order stayed for dinner – Mundungus, Mad-eye, Tonks and Remus were some of them.

She left the dinner straight after she had eaten, though, as she smelled like a hospital, and was in dire need of a shower.

While standing in the shower, she thought how nice it would be – for her at least, if Severus would stay and eat with them, just once. But she knew he would never do that – he hated not only Harry, but also Sirius, and the feelings were mutual between the three of them. She didn't know why, but it was easy to see and hear; whenever they were in a room together, they would begin to bicker over the small things – like who was doing more important work.

This was silly of course – Severus was dangling on the arm of Voldemort, of course his work was more dangerous and seeing as Sirius couldn't quite leave the house, it would seem as though there was nothing to discuss. But never the less, they discussed it.

When she came out of the shower, she sighed. She knew that at least being friends with him, would be a small comfort, but she still felt her heart race whenever she saw him – even though a nasty voice in her said, he would never grow to love her, and he would never want her.

She sat down on the bed, slowly drying her hair with a heating charm.

Maybe she should just give up.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own the Potterverse, J.K Rowling does.<p>

Again, thanks for all the reviews - I really do appreciate them :)


	16. Chapter 16

On the 10th, she'd finally gotten her vacation. It was well needed, as the hospital was swamped those days in the holidays. She had been working a night shift, so when everyone else were in the kitchen about to eat breakfast, she came home. Harry was in a suit, looking nervous as ever. It was his hearing, and he was going into the ministry with her dad.

She wished him good luck, before going upstairs, changing into her night gown, before falling asleep on the bed.

_She was sitting on a bench in a park, watching children play on the playground. The sun was shining, and the birds were singing. She was smiling at the children, as they played on the playground. _

_A girl, no older than five years old, suddenly fell down from the swings, and came running, teary eyed, over to Charlotte. The girl had straight black hair, and when she was looking up at Charlotte, she could see the girl had bright deep brown eyes, which were now teary._

"_I fell down" The girl sobbed. Charlotte went down on her knees, and looked the girl in her eyes. The brown eyes were very familiar, but she couldn't place them. _

"_Don't worry – it will heal right up" Charlotte said to her, and wiped her tears away. _

"_But it hurts" She said with a sob. Charlotte smiled at her. _

"_I know that – but look, it's already healing" Charlotte pointed at the knee where the girl had gotten a scratch. The wound was indeed healing, and within the next few seconds the wound was all healed up. Two boys, one around the exact same age as the girl, and one appearing to be two years older – the younger boy had semi long curly black hair going just past his ears, and the same brown eyes as the girl had, while the other boy had green hair, and a lighter brown pair of eyes._

"_Cassie, are you okay?" the green haired boy asked, while the two other boys looked worried. _

"'_m okay, teddy – mummy made it better" The girl beamed up at Charlotte._

Charlotte woke with a start – she sat up in bed, thinking of the dream, she'd just had – the girl had called her mummy – why had she done that? Charlotte would never be a mum, she didn't even like small children – they were noisy, messy, nosy, and again, noisy.

She shook the dream off her, thinking it was just her mind, playing with her.

She looked at the clock, and noticed it was afternoon – Harry would have been finished in the ministry for a few hours now.

She pulled on some regular clothes, and walked down stairs, to find her siblings cleaning the living room – Ron had black smudges on his face, and Ginny's hair was completely tangled.

The twins were huddled in the corner, appearing to be struggling with something, while Harry and Hermione were standing with Ron, dusting off some shelves – Charlotte wondered why her mum hadn't just done it with magic, it would be far easier, and done with within minutes.

Walking out into the kitchen, Sirius appeared to be moping, while her mum was cleaning in the kitchen.

"I don't get why Kreacher insist on bringing in these filthy things" she muttered to herself.

Charlotte chuckled, gaining her mum's attention. "Charlotte" She said, and smiled "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes" She lied and smiled. Her mum walked over and patted her on the cheek.

"Are you hungry, dear? I can make you some sandwiches" She offered, but Charlotte didn't really feel like eating, so she shook her head with a smile.

"Don't worry, mum – how did it go with Harry?"

"Wonderful – they cleared him of all charges!" She exclaimed, and beamed at Charlotte.

"That's great!" Charlotte exclaimed "He's excited then I take it, he gets to go back to Hogwarts"

"It's really wonderful" Her mum said again, smiling brightly. "But are you sure you don't want something to eat? You've been looking a little pale lately"

Charlotte waved her hand at her dismissively. "It is fine mum, besides you have enough to deal with – why have you told the others to clean the living room by hand? You could have it done within minutes by magic"

Her mum grinned "Oh, I just wanted them to do something instead of sitting around all day"

Charlotte chuckled as her mum swept past her and into the living room – she heard the faint voice of her mum berating the twins, that they should be doing something, instead of standing in the corner doing nothing.

Charlotte sat down at the table and found some tea. She took a mouthful, and spit it out in the cup immediately. It was cold, and much too strong for her liking. She grimaced, and turned to look at Sirius. He was in his own world, looking deep in thought. She would have thought he would be happier that Harry had been cleared of all charges.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked cautiously. She didn't want to be asking the wrong questions.

"No, not at all" he replied, but he still looked deep in thought.

"Really?" She raised her brows unimpressed by his lie. "You look like a child who has been told Christmas is cancelled" she pointed out. He looked at her, scolding her.

"I don't see that it's any of your business – and it's not like you would care" he snapped at her.

She raised her eyebrows even further – she figured that if she raised them any higher, they would disappear up into her hair line.

"So why don't you just leave me be, and go do whatever – it's not like anyone cares anyway"

She huffed, and stood "Not if you're acting like that, people won't – if this is about Harry going back to Hogwarts – "

"It isn't!" he said through gritted teeth. Again, she was unimpressed by his lie, but didn't want to argue with him over the matter. She left the kitchen, and walked into the living room, watching as her siblings finished up. She smiled at Harry when he turned to her.

"Congratulations on the cleared of all charges – not many people can do that these days"

"Thanks – if Dumbledore hadn't been there, I don't think I would have been cleared" he admitted, his voice broke slightly at the mentioning of Dumbledore. But she merely smiled at him, pretending not to have noticed. She shrugged.

"So, you looking forward to going back to your fifth year – owls are coming up" She said, and Hermione and Ron joined in. Hermione seemed to be in ecstasy over that they were entering their owls' year.

She told all about the different subjects she wanted to take, and how much work she would be doing.

Ron and Harry merely looked at each other, clearly not thinking that the owls were that important.

Charlotte merely chuckled at them – it was funny to watch their little exchanges. Hermione berating them for not taking it seriously, and Ron and Harry telling Hermione she needed to relax.

Later that evening, Charlotte met up with Emily and they ate dinner at one of the restaurants in Diagon alley. Emily told her everything about what had been going on at the hospital – some guy had come in, a complete nutter, in Emily's words, and threatened to kill them all with a pistol – a muggle killing device.

But before he could even pull the trigger, they had him subdued with a calming draught, and signed him up for the mental ward.

Apparently he had taken some muggle drug, and had become completely insane.

Emily found it all very amusing – though Charlotte failed to see the humour in it, though Emily tried to explain the man had thought himself to be in something called a movie.

"You don't get it do you?" Emily asked, a strand of pasta was dangling from her fork.

"No – what's funny about wizards experimenting with muggle drugs? It can be extremely dangerous, as our bodies aren't used to muggle medicine, no matter what it is" Charlotte said with a serious expression.

Emily sighed. "He was reciting lines from a muggle movie called Die hard – Oh, you'll never get it. You purebloods really are missing out on something"

"Emily, you know you can't die hard – it's not possible" Charlotte said, and Emily sighed even louder.

"It's just a title; it's not something they actually do"

"Then why name it that?"

"Purebloods!" Emily groaned frustrated, attracting several looks from the other tables.

When they had finished dinner, they were walking around in muggle London – Emily showed her Trafalgar square, telling her the story of the big stature standing in the middle.

It was quite interesting, but Charlotte had never really been interested in muggle history – she just didn't get it. There was so much war in muggle history, it was amazing muggles hadn't eradicated themselves yet.

Emily also showed her the Buckingham Palace.

"So, a queen lives in there?" Charlotte asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes – well sometimes. She has more residents, including the ones in which her son, Prince Charles, and his wife lives in. There's also some in Scotland. My mum actually thought, back when I received my letter to Hogwarts, that Hogwarts was one of the castles the queen owns, but we quickly learned that it wasn't.

Most muggles don't really like the queen, but almost everyone likes Princess Di" Emily grinned, as they were walking toward the palace.

Charlotte frowned. "How many are there?"

"Well, there's the queen, her nephews, and nieces, the duke of Edinburgh – the queens husband, their three children, where Charles is the heir to the throne. Then Charles has two children – two boys. He's married with Princess Diana, but if you ask me, I think Princess Di could do better than him" Emily said.

"Why isn't the duke of Edinburgh king, if he's married to the queen?"

"Because he's only the queen consort – a man who isn't born to the throne, can't be king"

"So, if the queen had been a man, and she was to marry a woman, the woman wouldn't be queen either?"

"Well, she would, as the king can make her his queen, but the queen can't make a man her king, because, like I said, kings have to be born to the throne" Emily explained, but Charlotte still couldn't help but feel confused.

"Isn't that quite discriminating? Against men I mean?"

Emily shrugged "I guess so – but it's working for them"

"I'm so glad there aren't any kings or queens in the wizarding world" Charlotte laughed. Emily grinned

"I must say, I have met purebloods who think they are kings and queens"

"Yeah, but they're also some sort of inbreed" They were nearing men with tall hats, red jackets, and blue pants. They were standing completely still, as though someone had petrified them.

"You could say that the royal family are inbreeds as well – in the old days, they weren't allowed to marry other people who weren't royal in some way – there actually was a king at one point, who was called the grandfather of Europe" Emily laughed. They were now almost standing in front of the men who appeared to be petrified, and Charlotte felt a bit uncomfortable about it. She stopped up and looked at the men.

"Are you sure they're alright?" She asked. Emily turned to her, and looked from her to the men.

"Oh – right, you've never seen them before. They're the queens personal guard, they mustn't move, even if there's a bee on their shoulder, they aren't allowed to swat it away – here look" Emily grinned broadly, and went over to wave the man in front of his eyes. He didn't even seem as though he knew they were there. Charlotte looked at the man amazed. "How does he do that?" Charlotte asked her, as Emily walked over to her.

"I have no idea – I wouldn't be able to stand still for that long. I bet you, they have been standing here for at least three hours"

Charlotte smirked at Emily "I know you aren't able to sit still for that long"

"You hurt me" She laughed, and they moved on. They walked around a big fountain, and looked inside some big gates. Emily pointed up at the corner of the gate, and a small black device was hanging there, pointed in their direction. Emily explained that everything around Buckingham palace was being taped – for the queen's safety.

When they finally decided to go home, Emily asked if she should walk her home, but Charlotte declined with a smile, saying it was best she didn't bring anyone – her parents were very suspicious these days, of course she knew that wasn't true, but she couldn't very well tell Emily that she was staying with a fugitive.

When she came into the house, her mum berated her for being out late, saying death eaters could have attacked her, and she should be more cautious in the future. But Charlotte just reminded her mum that she wasn't a child, and that she knew how to swing a wand.

When everyone else had gone to sleep, she was sitting in the living room, reading a book. She couldn't sleep when she had been sleeping during day.

When she was certain everyone were either asleep, or in their room, she heard something open and close the door.

She withdrew her wand, and cautiously laid down her book, to go out to investigate. The hallway was completely dark, but she could see the outline of a figure moving in the dark. She heard a crashing sound, as though a body had fallen to the floor. She lit up her wand, only to find that it was Severus, lying on the floor, panting heavily.

"Oh Merlin" She said, and was instantly at his side, she dropped her wand to the ground, lifting up his head, and looked him in the eyes "Severus, you should have gone to St. Mungos"

"Charlotte – not St. Mungos, please" he whispered in agony, looking into her eyes – she nodded, before he went unconscious. She had to move him; she couldn't help him out in the hallway. She pointed her wand at him, and made him hover off the floor. She moved him into the living room, lifting him down on the table with her wand, before ripping his shirt open. He had open wounds all over his chest – it was clear that he had been tortured.

He was bleeding profusely, and his lips were almost grey.

She summoned a painkiller potion, putting down her wand next to her. She lifted his head up, opening his mouth with her finger, before pouring down the potion. She had to make sure he wouldn't feel anything, wounds this deep weren't a painless affair, to heal.

She took her wand again, and muttered the incantations everywhere the wounds were. Slowly, one by one, they began to heal up.

She had to summon a blood replenisher as well, he had lost a lot of blood – luckily she had all these stored in her locker at the hospital. She made him down the 2nd potion as well and seeing how the colour slowly returned to his face, she sighed out relieved.

She couldn't risk apparating him back to Hogwarts. Instead, she made him hover just high enough, for her to move him up the stairs, and into her room. She gently laid him down on the bed.

His breathing had become heavy, meaning he had fallen asleep – oh he would be so mad when he woke up, and found he was at grimmauld place. He hadn't seemed to be himself when he had been lying in the entrance hall, but who would be themselves after losing that amount of blood. She reminded herself, that there possibly would be blood, not only on the floor in the entrance hall, but also in the living room.

She made sure that he was asleep first, before she walked down stairs, and cleaned up – the carpet, where he had been lying in front of the door, was completely red from blood. With a swish of her wand, it was cleaned up however, and the same went with the blood in the living room. She made the empty phials disappear, before walking upstairs again.

She had to watch over him, and make sure the wounds wouldn't go up again – some curses did that, and since she didn't know what he had been hit with, she had to try and stay awake, at least for a few hours, to make sure he hadn't been hit with such a curse.

So she moved a chair over to the side of the bed where he was lying –he would twitch his mouth in his sleep, thrashing around, as though he was trying to escape something. It had only been an hour when he woke up with a quiet scream.

Charlotte was instantly at his side, lighting up the room, she could see he was sweaty, and as she felt his forehead, she could feel that he had a fever.

"Charlotte" he said weakly. He swallowed hard. "I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience" he tried to make a move to get up from the bed, but she put a hand on his chest.

"You're not leaving – you're staying in this bed, even if I have to bind your hands and legs together" she half smirked at him, but she did mean it.

"I don't want to be a bother" he said, trying to get up again, but she easily pushed him down on the pillow.

"You're not – I became a healer for a reason" She raised her eyebrow. He grumbled, but Charlotte didn't care.

"You didn't take me to St. Mungos" He said after a while. He appeared as though he didn't want to fall asleep again, so she guessed he was trying to talk him out of sleeping.

"Of course not" She said, and took the pillow on the other side of the bed, lifted the pillow under his head up slightly, and put it under.

"I have stolen your bed, have I not?" he asked, with a bit of regret in his voice. He groaned from pain as he tried to move again.

"Severus, I swear to Merlin, if you don't lay still and stay put, I will make sure that you will be in worse pain than you were before" She said, her lips twitching into a smirk. "And yes, that is the bed, which I am currently borrowing, but that doesn't matter"

"Charlotte – "

"No, no arguing. You have a fever, which means you're clearly not healed up completely. There's only so much spells and potions can do. You need to rest, and by rest I mean, lay still and not moving" She sat back into the chair, watching as he groaned, but stayed put in the bed.

"What about you then – where're you going to sleep?" He asked groggily. She raised an eyebrow, and motioned to the chair. "No, no, I can't let you sleep in a chair"

"Where else do you suggest I sleep?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. He looked around in the room, and finally patted the side of the bed next to him. "You want me to sleep in the same bed as you?" she asked with disbelief.

"Be quiet, you silly witch, and just get over here" He snapped. She looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"You aren't allergic to certain ingredients are you?"

"Just do as I say for once" he muttered, closing his eyes. With a sigh, she walked around the bed, conjured a few pillows, before lying down next to him. He turned slightly, so he was lying on his back. He turned his head to her. "Is there something going on between you and black?" He asked bluntly, his voice slightly slurred.

She wrinkled her brows "No – and why on earth would you care if there was?" she asked, sounding a bit more bitter than she wanted to. He didn't reply however.

"Can I ask you something?" She said, turning her head to fully face him. A smirk played at his lips.

"I believe you just did"

"Oh, you know what I mean"

"Yes, you may ask me a question" he said, he turned his head, looking up into the ceiling.

"Why did you come here? I might not even have been awake"

He shrugged, but groaned afterward, knowing he shouldn't have done that.

"The dunderheads at St. Mungos would have asked questions, and I can't very well apparate to Hogwarts"

"So I was chosen by default?" she hid her smirk from him, by turning her head.

"Yes – but I also know I'm in quite capable hands" he answered. She turned her head to him and propped herself up on her elbow, supporting her head with the palm of her hand.

"You really mean that?" she asked.

"Yes" he merely said. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have come here – and seeing how you're practically threatening to make me stay, I probably shouldn't have come here at all"

"Please – Poppy would have you linked to the bed, if she knew you wanted to get up and move around" Charlotte chuckled lightly.

"So you're the lesser of two evils – I should have known that" he faint smirk was on his lips. "Do you also treat your patients like this?"

"Like what – forcing them to lie still in a bed, until I know they're completely healed up? No, not at all, I let them walk the moment I have given them a potion that might backfire at them" She replied sarcastically. "Or is it the part about forcing them to lie in _my_ bed?"

"The latter"

"Oh no – that's just because you're special" She grinned, lowered herself to lie back down on her back. She looked up into the black ceiling. "But don't worry – you might be able to return to Hogwarts in the morning, _after_ I've checked up on you" she added.

"How reassuring"

She turned her head, to look at him. A small smile formed on her lips, and she looked at his profile. He had closed his eyes, and folded his hands on his stomach.

"By the way" she said, in a slightly more serious tone "if you need anything, any potion or something, just say so, and I'll get it for you"

"I could use a dreamless sleep potion" he said after a while. She nodded, found her wand, and summoned a dreamless sleep potion. She helped him sit up a bit, as she handed it to him. He downed it right away, grimacing at the taste. He gave the empty phial to her, and she placed it on the bedstand.

He lied back down, resuming the position he had before. "Thank you – for everything" he said sleepily.

"No worries – now go back to sleep" she muttered, feeling her eyelids becoming heavy as well.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own the Potterverse, the lovely J.K Rowlig does :)<p>

- I apologize for incorrect Grammer, as English is not my mother language - though i wish it was :)


	17. Chapter 17

When she woke up the next day, she was happy to find Severus, still sleeping next to her in the bed.

She smiled softly at him, before checking the clock – 8:09. Her mum and siblings would definitely be up by now, meaning there was breakfast downstairs as well.

She quietly got out of bed, and walked downstairs, thinking Severus probably wouldn't want to join the Weasleys for breakfast.

"Good morning – "Her mum blinked at her. "Why're you wearing the same thing you wore yesterday?"

She shrugged "I fell asleep with it on, and didn't want to change – I'm just going to take some food though, and walk back upstairs to eat in bed – I didn't get much sleep last night, so I might go back to sleep again afterward"

Her mum looked bewildered for a moment and blinked a few times. "Sure" she said bewildered.

Charlotte smiled at her, took a plate from the table and put toast, marmalade, butter, and cheese onto the plate, taking two cups and poured up some tea – they looked at her very weirdly as she did that, but she merely smiled at them, and wished them a good morning when she walked out.

Severus had awoken when she entered the room, and was sitting up in bed, making a move to leave. But she held her hand up at him, and instead put the plate with all the food on the bed stand.

"You're not leaving yet" it wasn't a question.

"How long do you plan on keeping me your prisoner?" He asked, eyeing the food, as she pushed him back into the bed.

"Just for a few hours – I need to be sure you're completely healed, which also means that you can keep down food" she made a move to feel his forehead, but he drew back on basic instinct.

She raised an eyebrow. "I need to feel if you're still having a fever"

"I don't" he answered, but she kept her eyebrow raised, and leaned in to touch his forehead. He didn't have a fever, however, which was good. If he did have a fever, then that meant she hadn't healed up the wounds good enough – she'd once seen a trainee healer, heal up a wound so badly, small blisters with puss formed around the area where he had been healed, and they had to tear up the wound again, to heal it correctly.

She sat down into the chair, which was still placed in front of the bed, and took a piece of toast, and buttered it before putting marmalade on.

"Go on, it's no poisoned" She said.

"Didn't your mother make it?" He said with a small smirk.

"Yes, she did. But she doesn't know you're here, had she known, she probably would have tried something" Charlotte grinned, and took a bite of her toast.

He reached out, and took a piece of toast, putting a slide of cheese on it, before eating it slowly.

They ate in silence, and when the plate was empty, and their tea was gone, Charlotte made him rise from the bed, to examine him.

She glided her wand over his body, to make sure she didn't forget a spot.

She hadn't noticed how he looked the night before, as she had been busy trying to get all the blood and wounds healed up, but looking at him now, she could say he was definitely attractive. He might not have a six pack, but he had the kind of body most men at his age had – refined muscles, broad chest, and broad shoulders.

It was a bit of an awkward moment for both of them – he tried to steady his breathing, while she tried not to touch him – he was standing half naked after all.

And just as she thought the moment couldn't get any more awkward, while she was holding her wand over his chest, the door went up, and as she turned her head, she could see Sirius had stopped dead in his tracks.

None of them said anything – even Severus seemed to have been at loss of words.

Sirius then shut the door again, and the sound of footsteps going downstairs was heard.

Charlotte straightened up, and looked at Severus. He looked back at her, and a smirk formed on his lips.

"You don't think, he thinks - ?" Charlotte asked.

"I think that is exactly what he thinks" He smirked widely. Apparently he found it amusing that Sirius would see them just in that moment.

"You do know that he quite possibly will tell the rest downstairs?"

"Yes, I think I have known Black enough to know he won't miss that opportunity"

"Well then" She said, and put away her wand. She smiled at him. "Then it's good this is a valid reason"

"I don't believe Black would find anything a valid reason, when it comes to me, having a bare chest in front of a woman" He smirked at that – apparently he found it immensely hilarious that Sirius would walk in on them, just in that moment.

"That's his problem, right?" Charlotte smirked.

Severus found his own wand, and conjured a shirt – she had ripped his open the night before, and banished it, so he didn't have any shirt with him.

"So, am I free to go" He asked, after he had pulled the shirt over his head.

She studied him for a moment "Yes – all though, if you are experiencing pains or anything the like, I want you to come to me immediately – I will know if you don't"

"I don't really have a choice then?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No" She smiled at him, and folded her arms over her chest.

"Very well then – I shall be going now then" He said, and made a move toward the door. Charlotte, however, walked over and opened the door for him. He raised an eyebrow at her, but walked out.

She walked him downstairs; the voices of the kitchen filled the halls.

When they stood in front of the door, she smiled at him. He was just about to turn the door handle, when he turned to her.

"Thank you – for everything" he said, a small smile tracing his lips.

"Don't worry about it – I'll gladly do it another time, though I hope it won't be necessary" She smiled.

"I cannot promise you anything" He turned around, and took hold of the door handle and opened the door. He turned to her one last time, before he disapparated with a faint 'pop'.

She closed the door after him, and went out into the kitchen.

They all became silent when she entered, and everyone was looking at her – so he had told them.

"Oh for Merlins sake" She said, rolled her eyes, and walked upstairs to clean the room.

When she came downstairs again, the trio – Harry, Ron and Hermione, had left the table along with the twins.

Charlotte had changed clothes into a pair of jeans, and a tank top, she had also put her hair up into a ponytail.

She sat down at the table, and looked around at them – they all seemed to be studying her with great care.

"Oh for merlins sake, if you have something to ask me, then ask me" She said exasperated.

Ginny averted her eyes from Charlotte, and the same did her mum and bill – her dad had already gone to work it seemed.

Sirius however, didn't.

"What was Snivellus doing in my house?" He asked with a stern facial expression that did not suit him at all.

"His name is Severus, Sirius" Charlotte corrected him first. "And he came here, last night – "She could almost see the anger flare up in him, all though she didn't understand why – Sirius shouldn't be taking an interest in it at all. "Badly wounded" she added through gritted teeth. "He was bleeding all over the place, and I had to take care of him" She said. Her mum turned to her, shock apparent on her face.  
>"Oh dear – we thought – "she trailed off.<p>

"Yeah, I can guess you thought the worst" Charlotte said under her breath.

"What happened to him?" Sirius asked, though it wasn't with any sort of worry. Quite the contrary – it was like he dared her to tell a lie.

"I didn't ask him" she said through gritted teeth. "He needed my help, and so I helped him"

"But it does look kind of suspicious – he could have gone to Madame Pomfrey, but he chose you" Sirius had his eyes narrowed.

"Sirius, I'm a healer – and quite honestly, do you want him to walk all the way from the gates, and up to Hogwarts, when he's bleeding as profusely as he was? There was a big red stain on the carpet last night, from blood, and I can tell you it was the same thing with the living room" She said matter-of-factly.

"Whatever you say – I still find it suspicious" Sirius crossed his arms, and looked away.

He didn't speak to her for the rest of the day, which Charlotte only could shrug over. If he wanted to be acting like a hurt dog, then Charlotte wasn't about to change that – especially not if he made snide remarks about Severus.

The others wasn't quite easily convinced either – the twins kept asking her what she saw in Severus, and though she wasn't about to tell them that she actually did like him, she didn't want them to suspect anything, so she told them what she had told the others – the truth. That he was in need of her help, and she gladly helped – she was the only healer in the order, so she kind of had to help where she could.

She had also begun searching for a new place to live, both in muggle London, and in Diagon alley – a small flat would be all she needed, though she did want a flat with at least two bedrooms, so she had a place for all of her books, and stuff.

Bill eventually helped her find one – it was located in Diagon Alley, not far away from Bill's flat. It was roomy, and nice – just the size she wanted. It had two bed rooms, one bathroom, a nice kitchen with joined dining room, and a living room.

She was shown around in the flat by the woman who rented it out, and Charlotte loved it. She paid the deposit the same day, and it was ready to be moved into by September 1st.

It wasn't expensive either; 175 Galleons a month – apparently she hadn't been able to rent it out for over a year.

She was really looking forward to be living on her own again – at least there, people wouldn't be giving her odd looks and side glances whenever anyone mentioned Severus – and by people, she means her family.

It wasn't far from Emily's flat either – Emily lived only a block away, which meant it would be easier to see her.

Sirius had begun to give her the cold shoulder ever since – he wouldn't talk with her, he wouldn't look at her, and he wouldn't even ask her to pass the things he needed around the table. In other words, he was acting childish – just because she now openly was friends with Severus, didn't it mean she couldn't be friends with him either.  
>But apparently that's how he saw it, and he wouldn't let it go.<p>

Charlotte and Tonks talked about it as well – they had made it a routine to go for a walk after dinner whenever Tonks was there. They were walking through the park, not far from Grimmauld place, when the subject came up.

"I think he might be hurt" Tonks said, looking straight ahead.

"Hurt? Why should he be hurt, I haven't done anything to him" Charlotte said confused.

"Well, maybe he thinks that the two of you had something – maybe he even thought you liked him, in the more special way" Tonks offered. Charlotte scrunched up her nose.

"No – that's ridiculous; I just see him, or rather saw him as a friend, as he's now avoiding me, but he can't have thought we had something, can he?"

"I think he did – remember, he hasn't been around women in a long time, and to have a young woman like you move into his house, I mean, men are weird that way – they suddenly get all possessive, and think there might be something going on, when there isn't"

Charlotte smirked "You sound like you've had that problem before"

"Well, I have – I moved in with this one guy, back when I first moved away from home" Tonks admitted.

"Well it doesn't really help that he thinks something is going on between me and Severus – everyone knows they're mortal enemies, or could be mortal enemies. How Dumbledore have gotten them to be in a room with each other at least once a week, I have no idea" Charlotte sighed. Why couldn't the world just be a little itty bit simple?

"Yeah, but you see, I sort of get why he thinks like that, Sirius I mean" Tonks said. Charlotte turned to her, and looked at her puzzled.

"How come?"

"It's just the way you talk about him, the way you say his name – I don't think I've ever heard anyone say his name, with as much care and almost affection like you do. I mean I've had my thoughts about it too, and seeing you two at the meetings, whisper to each other – I get it, I really do" Tonks said, and looked at Charlotte, searching her face for an answer to why she had been doing that.

"Well, there's nothing going on between us"

"Charlotte, come on, even a blind person could see it" Tonks smirked, and walked them over to a bench. They sat down, and saw the sun about to go down in the distance.

"You have to promise me not to tell anyone" Charlotte started, and tonks nodded. "When I went to Hogwarts, to be his apprentice, I sort of fell in love with him" She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for tonks's reaction.

"What?" She said half amused. Charlotte opened her eyes again, and saw the way tonks almost looked about to crack down, laughing. But then she looked at Charlotte's face and she knew she was being serious. "Oh, you're not joking, are you?"

"Sadly, I'm not – ever since, I've been trying to escape my feelings, but when I see him, I just instantly become happy. I know he doesn't feel the same way about me, which is also why I can say nothing is going on between us. He knows, how I feel, but I've asked him if we could just be friends, as he clearly doesn't want anything to happen between us"

"So what did he say?"

She shrugged "I don't know – he's always very cryptic, but I think he has silently agreed to be friends with me. I'm sure you've heard that he came to me, after having been tortured"

Tonks nodded. "Yeah – I don't think there's an order member who doesn't know, of course everyone is saying it's because you're the only healer in the order, and you actually know what to do"

Charlotte smiled "It's true though – the only reason why he did come to me was because I'm the only healer in the order, and he needed instant help"

But Tonks didn't quite look convinced.

"But anyway, how are things between you and Remus?" Charlotte smiled, wanting to change the subject quickly.

"Oh – we're still just on a friend relationship phase. I don't think anything is ever going to happen, he doesn't seem like someone who want to commit, probably because of his condition. I think he's scared of hurting people"

"Men" Charlotte said, and Tonks chuckled.

They walked back to grimmauld place, talking about Remus and Tonks's relationship, and what Charlotte could do to help them along – Charlotte tried suggesting a love potion, which tonks seemed to consider for a moment.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own the Potterverse, J.K Rowling does.<p>

I know - Severus needs to get a grip and tell Charlotte about his feelings - But Severus isn't a man who talks feelings. There will be more explaining of Sirius and his actions in the next chapter :)


	18. Chapter 18

On august 30th she went home to the burrow, to get all of her things – Bill and their dad helped her, and moved them to her new flat in Diagon Alley.

They spent most of the day with this, even though their dad had to get back to work around noon.

They repainted the walls everywhere – the previous colour was a dark green and silver colour, it didn't exactly take a scientist to know a Slytherin had been living there before. She painted every wall a beige colour, to give it a neutral look – she didn't really like that house supremacy that most people favoured.

Bill helped her put it all into place, setting everything up, and even went out to buy some extra things with her.

Severus didn't dump in again with open wounds, all though he did speak with her a bit more at the meetings – giving snide remarks about Sirius, which sometimes, as she couldn't help herself, quite funny. It wasn't because she'd begun to hate Sirius, but she found him very childish, and he acted like a spoiled child whenever Charlotte chose to sit next to Severus instead of Sirius.

Charlotte wasn't home at Grimmauld place the day before they returned to Hogwarts – she had been called to the hospital for an emergency – there had been an accident with 20 people, who had tried to tame a dragon by themselves, so they needed everyone in they could get.

She didn't get off until midnight, and when she came in, nobody was awake it seemed.

She walked through the dark hallway, and toward the kitchen – she hadn't eaten in hours, and her stomach was rumbling.

She turned on the light in the kitchen, only to find Sirius sitting in the dark, leaned back in a chair with his feet up on the table. She wasn't sure if he was asleep or not, so she walked around and saw that he was indeed asleep.

She walked over behind him, and laid a hand on his shoulder, shaking him a bit.

Instantly he was awake, his eyes wide, and about to turn around and hex her arse off, it seemed.

But he relaxed when he saw that it was just charlotte, and he lowered his wand.

"Charlotte" he said with a small frown.

"Hey – how long have you been asleep down here?" She asked, walking around, and sitting across from him. She summoned the sandwich she had bought earlier at the hospital.

"I don't know – a few hours" He replied, yawning slightly. Charlotte chuckled lightly.

"How can you even fall asleep in a chair, whilst having your feet up on the table?" She asked with a grin, before taking a bite off of her sandwich.

"It's a special gift I have" Sirius grinned back, sleep still apparent in his voice. "Did you just get in?"

"Yeah" She answered, swallowing the bite. "I actually thought everyone were asleep in their rooms"

"Well, not everyone was" Sirius grinned.

They were silent for a while – Charlotte ate her sandwich, and Sirius was just staring off into the empty air. It was Sirius who broke the silence, however.

"Are you looking forward to moving into a new flat?" He asked, rather curiously.

"I am – one of my best friends doesn't live far from the flat" Charlotte smiled back

"Oh – that's nice" he smiled, but it faded as quickly as it had appeared, and again he was staring into the empty space.

She reckoned he still had trouble to understand there was nothing between her and Severus – though she wished there was, but knew it would never happen, Severus was much too private a man to do relationships.

"Look, Sirius – "She began, but he stood up, and smiled at her. It seemed as though he hadn't even heard her say anything.

"Well, I should be headed up to bed. Goodnight Charlotte" He gave her a faint smile, before walking out of the kitchen.

She sighed to herself, and ate the last of the sandwich before walking up to bed herself. She had to get up early in the morning, as she wanted to follow the others to kings cross.

She felt a bit guilty about Sirius – he had seemed so down lately, possibly from the outlook of living alone again. But since he couldn't accept her friendship with Severus, she couldn't stay there.

While walking to her bed, she wondered what would have happened if she hadn't fallen in love with Severus – would she have fallen in love with Sirius instead? Would they love each other so much, that they would get married, and spend the rest of their lives together? Fight alongside each other in life's great battles?

She reminded herself of that dream she had, where the girl with the bright deep brown eyes had been staring up at her, evidently calling her 'mummy' - oh but she was much too young to have these kinds of thoughts. Even if she would decide she would have children in the future, it wouldn't be before she was in her late 30's, she was sure of that.

She was awoken the next day by her mum, who ushered her out of bed and to get dressed.

Just for kicks of it, Charlotte almost thought about trying on her old school robes, and go dressed as though she was a school girl. But she didn't do that, instead she just picked out a pair of grey faded jeans, and a tank top – the usual. She brushed her hair, though to no avail – her hair would always be an unruly mess of curls, and she didn't want to use a straightening charm on her hair, it would eventually ruin her hair, and it always looked too dead whenever she did that.

Walking downstairs, she could already hear the chaos that was September 1st.

Everyone was running up and down the stairs, finding stuff they might or might not have forgotten, while the rest were eating breakfast.

Mad-eye, Remus and Tonks would follow them to the train station, they couldn't very well have Harry would be attacked on the way there.

Tonks morphed into an old lady – unsuspecting to others, as people normally didn't suspect old ladies to be powerful witches.

Sirius also came, all though it was under a lot of protest from the other order members, even though he was going as his animagus form.

Charlotte walked next to Tonks on the way there, talking with her as though everything was normal. Mad-eye huffed, and called them irresponsible, for acting so normal when they were on a mission, adding 'Constant Vigilance' after almost every sentence he said to them.

When they arrived at Kings Cross, Charlotte walked through the wall first, followed by tonks, and mad-eye.

She walked over to wait for the rest, tonks following her.

When they had finally entered, and Sirius in the form of Snuffles, jumped up and placed two paws on Harry's chest, they got the teenagers onto the train.

As they were waving goodbye to them, Charlotte felt a hand on her shoulder. She instantly turned around, and looked into the eyes of Lucius Malfoy.

"Well, well, well – if it isn't Miss Weasley and her loyal subjects" he smirked."I didn't know you associated yourself with this lot" he looked at Mad-eye with a glare, only to turn his look at snuffles, who was standing by Charlotte, growling up at Malfoy.

Charlotte rose an eyebrow at him "Mr. Malfoy, this lot, as you say, consists of three people, one of whom is my mother, and another one of whom is an auror, not to mention the dog – I would hardly call that a lot"

He gazed at Mad-eye with a sneer, before turning his look down to Snuffles – Snuffles growled in return, baring teeth at Malfoy.

He raised an eyebrow at the dog, and looked up at Charlotte with great interest.

"Is this dog yours?"

"Yes" She answered "Though I can't see why you should have any interest in that"

"Charlotte" Mad-eye roared "We should be going" he said, as she turned around to him. She nodded, and was about to turn around, when Malfoy got a hold of her upper arm, and made her look at him again.

"Remember what I told you last year – I usually get what I want" he whispered with a sneer, before releasing her. She glared at him, before walking over to where tonks was standing, and they began to walk out of the train station.

Later that night when Sirius and Charlotte were alone – Charlotte's parents had decided to go home to the burrow, they were sitting in the kitchen, quietly eating the dinner Charlotte's mum had made for them, before she had taken off with her husband.

Sirius studied Charlotte as she was eating – he didn't think she noticed, though he never really knew with her. What she had said to Malfoy earlier at kings cross kept repeating itself in his head – she'd said he was her dog, that he was _hers_. If this didn't mean anything, Sirius didn't know what did.

She would occasionally glance up at him, and give him a smile.

A few strands of her hair kept falling down into her face, and she kept tucking them behind her ear – Sirius almost wanted to reach over, and tuck them behind her ear himself.

When they had finished eating, Sirius took care of the dishes – he only had to wave his wand once, and they would be clean.

He turned around, and saw Charlotte just standing up from the chair. She smiled at him.  
>"Thanks for letting me stay here, these past two months – my family as well" She said earnestly.<p>

"I'm the one who should be thanking you – if you and your family hadn't stayed here, I would have been all alone" Sirius shrugged. "The only thing that would happen would be the order meetings – otherwise, people wouldn't come here"  
>"I don't think that's true – well maybe with <em>some<em> people" She said, and he knew who she referred to – though that was a person whom he could easily be without. "I'm sure both Tonks and Remus would have been here – and Harry as well and when Harry is here, my brother, and Hermione will be as well"

"It still wouldn't have been the same" he said looking into her eyes. If he had to find out if she had _any_ feelings for him at all, now was the last chance. "You wouldn't have been here"

"You could easily have been without me" She chuckled "I've been working more than I've been here"

"Still" He replied, and took one step over to her. Merlin, it had been way too long since he had last asked a girl if she liked him. He wasn't quite sure how to do it, but he reckoned he could try with a kiss first.

So he closed the distance between them, and took her hand. He looked into her eyes – she looked confused, though that didn't stop him. He put a hand on the back of her head, and leaned down and kissed her on the mouth. He was pushed away though, as she had dropped his hand, and put a hand on his chest to push him away.

"What're you doing?" She asked bewildered.

"I was trying to kiss you" He stated blatantly. She breathed a nervous laugh.

"Sirius – I think you're a great person, a great friend, but I'm just not in love with you" She said.

His mood fell, though he knew he should have seen it coming – after all, he did see her with Snivellus.

Still he couldn't help but feel a bit beaten. "Why?" he asked.

"I – "She seemed to struggle finding the words to explain. She sighed. "I'm in love with another man, and I really wish that man could be you, as my life would be much simpler if it was, but it's not, it's – "

"Snivellus" He said, not even sure if she would have spoken the words herself. Her gaze hardened slightly.

"His name is Severus – and I'm afraid to admit that you're right" She sighed.

"In another life, perhaps" Sirius said, smiling at her sadly. He couldn't believe that she had fallen for that slimy git, and not him – perhaps it was because she didn't want to feel imprisoned at Grimmauld place like he did.

She smiled at him sadly. "In another life" She repeated, before turning around, and walking out of the kitchen.

Sirius stood there for a while, until he knew she had entered her room. He slowly made his way up the stairs himself, and fell down on his bed once he had reached his room. It was just his luck.

Charlotte officially moved into her new flat the next day, and sleeping in a bed, knowing nobody else was in the house, was the very essence of freedom. She could do whatever she wanted again, without having anyone caring about it.

She invited Tonks and Emily over to celebrate it – Emily brought them beers, which Charlotte found she actually liked, though Tonks didn't look convinced.

Tonks and Emily got along quite well – Emily loved Tonks ability of being a metamorphmagus, and asked tonks if she could change her hair colour almost all the time.

Tonks also liked Emily, because she not only was a muggle born, which meant she was different, but Emily also had a way of making Tonks laugh, and feeling everyone around at ease.

Charlotte and Tonks even discussed asking Dumbledore if Emily could join the order – they knew Emily wouldn't tell anyone about it, and it would be very helpful to have another healer in the order besides Charlotte.

So at the next order meeting, in the middle of September, tonks and Charlotte brought it up, and Dumbledore actually agreed, having the same view as them; that it would be good to have another healer in the group.

So when tonks and Charlotte told Emily about it, Emily became very excited, telling them that she wanted nothing more than to help – she believed that Voldemort indeed was back, and that everyone should stop being so naïve, and should instead begin to think for themselves.

So by the next order meeting, a week from the last one, they brought Emily along, giving her a note from Dumbledore, and telling her to memorize the address.

Emily was introduced to everyone in the order, and had particular eye for Sirius, and it seemed Sirius had taken an interest in her blonde friend as well. He always asked her if she wanted to sit next to him, and Charlotte always felt happy about it.

She was actually smiling, looking at them whispering to each other at one of the meetings, when she felt someone look at her. She turned to look Severus in the eyes, feeling the usual churning of her stomach at the sight of his eyes.

"What?" She whispered to him quietly.

"What are you so happy about – I believe this meeting isn't a joyous occasion" Severus said darkly. She smiled at him, and pointed a finger toward Emily and Sirius. "You're smiling, because Black has found an interest in your friend?"

"No, I'm smiling because they look good with each other – I don't think I've ever seen Emily this caught up in a person, and that's telling you that she just came out of a relationship with someone she really cared for" Charlotte told him, and he merely looked at her with no emotion.

"Charlotte" he said with a quiet voice "I don't see how any of that is relevant to the war"

Charlotte smirked at him "If we lose the love between all of us, then why are we fighting?"

The trace of a smirk came across his lips, but he turned his head away from her, and focused on what Dumbledore was saying.

When the meeting was over, Charlotte followed Severus out to the door, giving him a small kiss on the cheek – though she knew he didn't like it when she did that, she said goodbye to him, reminding him to write to her, before walking into the kitchen again, where Emily took her aside with wide eyes, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thank you – for bringing me here. I had no idea Sirius Black could be such a wonderful person, I'm amazed that you've been able to withstand his charms" She grinned. Charlotte merely waved her hand at her friend dismissively.

"Don't worry about it – just have fun, and try not to let him hurt you"

"I don't think he could ever hurt me" She grinned, her brown eyes were wide with excitement.

Emily's and Sirius's relationship developed fast – almost too fast in Charlotte's opinion, which caused her to sometimes throw in some snide remarks about them with Severus, at the order meetings. She did want her friend all kinds of happiness, but the love notes, and air kissing became a bit too much sometimes.

But by November, they were already being official about it – they had announced that Emily would be moving in with him, so she better could be a part of the order.

It might also have been because Charlotte was jealous that Sirius already had admitted his feelings to Emily, and Severus wouldn't ever do that with Charlotte, that she was feeling was she was feeling toward Sirius and Emily.

Maybe she should stop trying – just forget everything about him, and just give up on whatever she might subconsciously hope would happen.

So she did that. She sat next to Tonks at the meetings, didn't follow them out when they left, and rarely spoke a word to him.

This wasn't typical for her, but if she had to forget everything about him, she had to stop talking with him, and just forget that he even existed – though that was very difficult when her dreams became more and more centered around him.

She even worked more overtime at the hospital, to keep her busy. She kept contact with her siblings; Bill came over more and more. He was worried about her. They all were.

But she told him that she was alright, and there was nothing wrong – she would give him a convincing smile, and he would drop the subject.

It just wasn't meant to be them – she'd realized that.

On November 14th, she spent her birthday by working at the hospital – they had baked a cake for her, and they celebrated her birthday in the lounge, eating cake and talking about life, and birthdays in general. When she got home her parents, and bill were there, and surprised her with gifts and homemade food – it was almost like the good old days, when she didn't have any worries in her life.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own the potterverse, J.K Rowling does.<p>

I'd like to explain a bit - when they say "in another life" to each other (Sirius and Charlotte) It's because I originally paired them up, and wrote the story slightly different, but after i had finished with that story, i didn't feel quite right for me, so i made this one instead. But I still have that feeling like "At this point in the story Charlotte and Sirius did - " But there will be more in store for Sirius, i haven't forgotten about him :)

- Thanks for the reviews, they're all very much appreciated.


	19. Chapter 19

December came, and so did the cold weather. The snow had started fallen early that year, and in the middle of December, there already was a good layer of snow on the streets.

She had to remind herself to be careful not to slip on the ice – many patients came in with cracked skulls, because they had slipped on the ice.

At the hospital, she had been promoted to Chief resident – head of all the trainees. She was now in charge of the trainees' education, and had to make sure they understood whatever she was saying.

She would go down into the lab, to show them around, and telling them everything she had told Emily when she had been showing her around.

She was also in charge of appointing trainees to the other healers, which meant she now had even more paperwork to do – but at least she welcomed the 200 extra Galleons a month, that came with the promotion.

The day before the Christmas break, Charlotte was working late again.

She had the night shift, and was deeply stunned when she saw her dad come in, in the middle of the night, with two puncture wounds in his neck. Simmons and some of the other healers were already working on him, but she pushed her way through, and looked down on her father - he was pale, there was no colour left in his face. She looked down shocked, but lifted up her wand about to help heal him - she had to do something.

"Charlotte step back – you can't treat him!" Simmons said, trying to push her away by putting her hand on Charlotte's shoulder, but Charlotte fought against her, she _had_ to help him.

"You don't understand! That's my dad, and he's bleeding! I have to help him!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes, but she refused to let them spill.

"Charlotte I'm your boss, and I'm saying no – you can't work on your family, we know this from experience, now go back into the waiting room, and I'll call when we're done!" Simmons said, but Charlotte insisted on staying while they worked on him – he had been bitten by a snake. A very poisonous snake.

She instantly sent word to Juno, telling her of what had happened, and Juno replied by saying she should tap some of the poison still in her father's system. She was tapping some of the poison that ran from her dad's neck, while Simmons wasn't watching, sending it down to Juno instant,so that she could examine it.

Simmons, a healer named Broderick, and another healer named Wilson worked on her dad all night.

When Charlotte for the third time was sent out of the room, she was told her mum was in the waiting room, pacing and looking pale as a ghost.

The moment she walked into the waiting room, her mum almost ran over and hugged her tightly. "Is he alright – he's not going to – to -" she couldn't finish the last words, and broke down crying on Charlotte's shoulder. Charlotte could feel a few tears betraying her as well, but kept it together knowing if anyone could fix him, it was them.

"No, no mum he's not. The people working on him are the best in the country"

When her mum had quieted down, and they were sitting, cradling each other, Juno appeared in the waiting room.

"Charlotte, you'd better come see this" She said, and adding to charlotte's mum "Your husband is doing fine – I'm just here on a second opinion on another patient, charlotte and I have been working on"

Her mum nodded "Hurry back" she croaked. Luckily, Bill joined them, and hurried over to their mum, hugging her tightly, asking what had happened.

Charlotte just barely said hi to him, before hurrying with Juno down into the lab.

"It's the most advanced thing I have ever seen – no poison is like this one, not one" Juno explained on the way down.

"But you can find an antidote?"

"Well, maybe, but it'll take some time" Juno said with a quiet voice. They rushed into the barely lit lab, where the only light came from the experimental department. Juno instantly showed her the pattern as she entered her area.

The pattern was so complex, had they not found him when they had, he would have died a horrible death. Charlotte suddenly felt grateful that whoever had alarmed the hospital alarmed them when they did.

"Do you see it?" Juno asked, and Charlotte nodded.

Juno looked bewildered. "I haven't seen anything like it before – those snakes that makes this, they're some class XXXX snakes. There are only a few of them in the world, and they're all in the Albanian forest. But this snake – the snake that did this, it's more than those in the Albanian forest. I don't know what kind of sick wizards have been playing with this snakes poison canals, but they've made it more efficient, meaning the poison spreads quicker, and more painfully"

"My dad is lucky to even have made it here" Charlotte said shocked, her eyes wide as she looked at the pattern. "How many days do you need for the antidote?" she asked instantly, looking at Juno with anticipation.

"I don't know – it can take two, three days. But it can also take months. It depends on how soon I crack this code. The poison you gave me is going to be a hell of a lot of help – I've filtered the poison away from the blood, and now I have this clear liquid poison. I can experiment 6 times with it. But that's it"

"But can you do it?" Charlotte asked, as though it was the one million Galleon question.

"Yes – yes I can do it" Juno said determined. "But I need to begin instantly" Charlotte took the hint, wished her good luck, and walked upstairs to her mum again, who was still hugging Bill.

"I'll go check on him – you stay with mum, right?"

"I'll stay" Bill said with a nod. She left the room, and walked through the halls and over to the sealed off areas. She could see from the glass that they were still trying to fix him.

Her eyes widened with horror, when they lowered him on the board, took off the gloves, and Simmons walked toward Charlotte with a grim expression. She feared the worst, but Simmons smiled when she came out.

"We have saved your dad – but there's still poison in his system. We need an antidote for that, and as this can't be healed with magic, we need the experimental department on this case - "

"Juno is on it – but he's going to be alright, he's going to live?" Charlotte asked, interrupting Simmons.

"Yes – your father is going to be fine. We need him here for surveillance, and to replenish his blood whenever he needs it" Simmons smiled. Tears finally formed in her eyes, but they were good tears. She walked back to Bill and their mum, and they too, thought the worst.

"Oh no" Bill breathed. But Charlotte smiled.

"He's going to live" She announced. Bill instantly smiled, and breathed out relieved. It seemed to take a few seconds for their mum to register it, but she broke into a smile, and cried tears of joy onto bills shirt.

"He'll have to stay here for a while, until they've found a cure for the poison. Right now, it doesn't want to be healed, so he bleeds a lot, but a few replenishing potions will be added a few times a day, and those working on the antidote are already on it" Charlotte told them, and her mum flung her arms around her, repeating that she knew it would come in handy having a healer in the family.

Charlotte took her mum, and her brother to see Simmons – she and the other healers were moving Charlotte's dad to another ward.

Their mum told Bill and Charlotte that it was Harry who had saved their dad, because he had alarmed Dumbledore. How he had done that, none of them knew, but they were thankful for him.

Bill stayed with their mum at the hospital, as she refused to leave their dad, but their mum told Charlotte that she should go home and get some rest, though Charlotte had no idea of how she possible could be going to sleep, when her dad had just been bitten in the neck by a snake.

But Simmons almost threw her out of the hospital; with that words, that she wouldn't do anything good, when she hadn't had any sleep.

So she bit down into the sour apple, and walked the way home. It was cold, snowing, and only lit up by the lamps outside.

Her hand was shaking when she got her door up, and walked inside. She let out a shriek when she saw something move towards her in the dark. She instantly lid up her wand, and looked up into the face of Severus.

He walked toward her – he looked genuinely worried for her, but she glided down along the wall, letting out everything that she had kept bottled in the last few hours. Tears rolled down her cheek, and she tried to cover her head with her hands, while lifting her knees up towards her chest.

But he bent down to her, and looked at her, before taking her hands away from her face, holding them gently in his own hands. He tried to make her look at him, but her vision was blurry from tears, and she just couldn't stop them.

He pulled her up, and got her to walk into the living room, where she sat down on the sofa, still crying uncontrollably.

He put his arm around her, softly trying to calm her down.  
>When her tears had stopped running down her cheek, and she only was sobbing, he gently put a hand under her jaw, turning her head to him.<p>

He removed a lock of her hair out of her face, and behind her ear, just looking at her.

"My dad almost died, Severus" She said in a quiet voice, followed by a sob. He cupped her right cheek with his hand. He didn't say anything, but the look in his eye, told her that she shouldn't worry, that her dad was going to be alright.

They just sat there in silence, as her sobbing came under control. She hadn't realized how pathetic she may look. She wiped her eyes, and took in a deep breath, turning to him apologetic.

"I'm sorry, you must think I'm being pathetic" She said, her voice a little shaky.

"No – your father did almost die; there is nothing pathetic about that" the look in his eyes told her that he meant every word he said, that he didn't think her pathetic, or irrational.

She let out a little huff, and pulled back a little. She didn't get it. She didn't get why he was even there, or why he all of the sudden had an interest in how she was feeling about everything, or why he had chosen to come and comfort her.

She stood up from the sofa, and walked over to the window, cradling herself in her arms. She looked out of the window, seeing the snow beginning to fall down over Diagon Alley, before turning to him, a little more angrily than she had wanted to, but she might as well just get it out.

"W-why are you even here?" She asked; her voice still shaky. "You never care about me, or anything that has something to do with me, so what are you doing here?"

He rose from the sofa, and walked up to her. His eyes were hard.

"I care more than you can imagine" he said in a low voice. She huffed, and turned around, wiping a tear away from her eye with her shirt sleeve. She was about to retort, when he took hold of her wrist, and spun her around. He had his lips crushing against hers, before she knew what had happened.

She was shocked, to say the least, so he pulled away, looking at her with an expression that told, that he had not planned to do that.

But Charlotte had already leaned up, and flung her arms around his neck, kissing him hard on the mouth before he could pull away again.

When she felt one of his hands on the small of her back, and the other at the back of her head, she moaned softly into the kiss, before he deepened it.

He turned them around, and pushed her toward the sofa, pushing her down on it, groaning as she let her tongue slip out, and lick his lips.

None of them were thinking of their actions, until they pulled away after several minutes without air. He pressed him forehead against hers, both of them panting.

"I'm sorry" She breathed with her eyes closed, still panting, her chest heaving up and down. He responded by lowering his lips, more gently than before, to hers. But he pulled away as quickly as he had kissed her, sitting up in the sofa. She sat up next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming, or not.

"I thought you didn't like me" She breathed after a few seconds. She felt him move his head, and she looked up at him.

"I didn't want to" he admitted. She pulled away slightly, and looked him in the eyes. "But the more I pulled away, the more I found myself unable to"

"But these past months, I haven't breathed a word to you"

"No – and that also made me realize, that you had become a part, that I missed – a part I didn't want to lose"

She grinned slightly at him. "You missed me?" She asked.

"Be quiet, you silly witch" he smirked at her, before she leaned back her head.

"How did you know about my father?" She asked after few seconds.

"Potter – Dumbledore told me"

"Oh – so you decided to come here, and scare the magic out of me?"

"Yes" He answered, a smirk playing at his lips. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, you've been up all night – you should get some sleep" he said to her.

"And miss this opportunity to be sitting here with you? You know I'm still convinced that I'm merely hallucinating and that you're really the pillow over there" She pointed toward a purple pillow behind him.

He smirked at her, and before she knew it, he had her in his arms, and he was carrying her into the bed room. She protested wildly, telling him to put her down immediately – she hated being lifted around.

So he did as she said – he threw her down on the bed, jumping up after she had landed.

She scolded him, and crossed her arms, sitting up in the bed. But as he made a move to leave, she widened her eyes.

"Are you leaving?" She asked.

"I believe I am" he said, turning back to her.

"Please don't – I know this pathetic side of me isn't exactly appealing, but could you just stay? At least until I've fallen asleep" She pleaded him, her eyes were getting heavy, both from crying and because she needed sleep. He nodded once, before sitting down on the bed, and swinging his legs onto the bed. He took hold of the bed sheet, and pulled it over her, as she lay next to him. She just managed to say "Thank you" before she closed her eyes, and felt herself falling asleep – she just registered that she had snuggled up to him, feeling a hand in her hair, before falling completely asleep.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own the potterverse, J.K Rowling does.<p>

- So here you go, hope you like the chapter :)


	20. Chapter 20

When she woke up, she hadn't gotten much sleep, and half expected Severus to be lying next to her, however he wasn't there. She walked out of bed lazily, not sure her legs could even carry her, she walked out into the kitchen, and to her surprise the table was full of food; Severus had made breakfast to her, just before he had left, as there was a note next to the plate from him.

"_Had to go – enjoy the breakfast" _It truly was a different side of him that she was seeing – though she wasn't sure if it truly was for real - she wondered briefly if she was still asleep, and merely dreaming.

But she ate the breakfast fast, before she got dressed and rushed out the door. She wanted to see if Juno had made any progress and if there was anything she could help with.

She met up with her siblings, her mum and Tonks on the way there. The twins instantly attacked her with questions of their dad,

They took the patients entrance, but were quicker up on the floor where their father was, as Charlotte knew her way around. When they entered his room, he was in a good mood. The teenagers rushed over to their father, and flocked around him, asking him how he was, telling him how cool it would look to have two wounds in the neck.

"How has he been?" She asked bill, noticing how her mum was too busy telling the others to be careful.

"He's been alright – got some sleep because of a sleeping draught, but he's been in a good mood. Mum has been sleeping as well, she wanted to stay with him all the time, but I eventually told her to go home and get some rest" Bill told her.

"Good – do you know what they're giving him?" She asked him, but instead picked up his chat, scurrying over it with her wand. It seemed they were trying everything possible, but none of it helped. He received blood replenisher every three hours, and had his bandages changed every second hours.

She would have to see if Juno was still there, or if she had informed Henry of what she was doing. Charlotte needed to know of the progress.

"Oh, and a girl named Juno told me, to tell you, do go down into the lab, and read the note she has written – it seemed important" he said. Charlotte thanked him, and left her family with her dad. She knew they soon would be kicked out, so instead she went down into the lab, knowing Juno would have found something – anything.

The note was lying on Juno's desk. "_Found something, need some rare ingredients – must be fresh. Going to go home to sleep after I've found the ingredients, and after that I'll be back and kicking" _the note ended with a small smiley face. Juno hadn't specified what she had found, but looking at her notes, it would seem she had found a way to reverse the effect of the poison, and knowing now that it was Nagini, Voldemort's snake that had bitten her father, she felt lucky it was Juno who was working on the anti-dote.

She also noticed Juno had tried with several mixes, and now had 4 batches left of poison.

Charlotte smiled brightly – there was hope.

When she came back up again, the teenagers had been sent off, as their father needed his bandages changed, and as their mum was yelling at a trainee for trying muggle methods. Charlotte knew this trainee loved experimenting with muggle methods, and hoped for the trainee he had a bit of success in the past, otherwise she would have to take him aside, and talk with him about the differences between the muggle world and the wizarding world.

It hadn't really done anything; instead the poison had been dissolving the stitches the trainee had tried, meaning they needed to change his bandages. That was the only thing, which helped Charlotte a little – she now knew what ingredients Juno had spoken of, and they were indeed rare. Juno would be travelling the world to find them, and keeping them stored safely, and freshly.

She was overjoyed that Juno took it so seriously, and helped them out so much – she knew Juno loved a challenge, but also knew Juno was a family person, and knowing Juno, Juno wouldn't want anyone's family to be disrupted by diseases and poisons.

She was there almost all day and when she nearly fell asleep while sitting in a hospital chair in her dad's room, she was reprimanded by her mum to go home and sleep.

Charlotte didn't go willingly – she wanted to be there in case anything happened, and for when Juno returned, but her mum almost pushed her out of the hospital, with the words that if she didn't go home to sleep, she would have Bill come and get her, and lift her out of the hospital. So she reluctantly walked home, and fell down on her bed, sleeping right away. She awoke briefly a few hours later, when she felt someone, or rather felt Severus, put and arm around her, pulling her close to him. She smiled to herself, before drifting off to sleep again.

The next few days went with going back and forth to the hospital. Juno had found the ingredients she needed, but now needed to do it precisely over three days, meaning he would possibly be cured by Christmas day.

Simmons had told her to take a few days off, but she couldn't. She needed to help Juno as much as possible – even if she had to act as an assistant. They overworked themselves, finding different ways of making the potion all the time.

They still had the first batch, that needed to boil over three days, but they also tried other variants of that potion, most of which either blew up, or became an acidy solution that burned through the bottom of the kettle.

On the third day, and also Christmas Eve, the potion had finally finished, and was now a clear liquid substance. It didn't smell like anything.

They tried it on a mouse Charlotte transfigured for Juno, adding a tiny bit of the poison they had left from what Charlotte had extracted from her dad, the mouse writhed with pain, and the wound where they had applied the poison bled profusely. Juno quickly added some of the antidote, and within minutes, the wound had healed up, and the mouse was running around like nothing had happened. It worked. Charlotte looked at Juno ecstatic.  
>"You did it!" Charlotte said, feeling more joy than she had since what had happened. She flung her arms around Juno, and hugged her tightly – Juno hugged her back, equally happy and excited.<p>

They both ran upstairs, not caring about people pointing at signs that said 'No running!' they both carried a phial each with a small amount of antidote in it, as they didn't want to risk losing anything of it.

They didn't though.

When they reached her dad's room, they barged in on a trainee healer, the same who had tried stitching it up the wound, changing the bandages around his neck. Bill was there too; their mum had gone home to grimmauld place to look after the teenagers.

"We have the antidote" Juno said, as Charlotte stopped the trainee from changing the bandages. The trainee instantly stepped away from a very bewildered looking dad. Charlotte beamed at him.

"Charlotte – how – you - ?" He said, clearly not able to express what he wanted to ask.

"It's going to be okay dad – I extracted some poison from you when you came in, and now we have the antidote" Charlotte explained, while removing the bandages from around his neck, while Juno stood on the other side, prepared to apply it. When the bandages was removed, she looked at her dad.

"Dad, this might sting a bit, but it'll work" She smiled. He nodded, and closed his eyes, as though that would make it go away.

Juno slowly applied the anti dote, pouring it gently into the wounds of his neck. He made a small hissing noise at the potion came into contact, with the wounds healed up within seconds, only leaving two small round scars.

"Dad – it's over, you can open your eyes now" Charlotte beamed. He opened his eyes, and lifted his hand up to feel his neck.

"It's gone – "He looked at Charlotte "I – "

"It was all Juno here" Charlotte nodded to Juno, smiling brightly at her. He turned to Juno, and looked at her with much appreciation.

"Thank you, very much – I don't know how to ever repay you"

"Just stay away from snakes in the future" Juno grinned.

The news were quickly spread to the guests in grimmauld place 12. Charlotte stayed with her dad and brother until their mum arrived, and Simmons discharged him, with the words to Charlotte that if he should feel any neck problems, fever, or anything like that, she should bring him to the hospital immediately.

So they apparated to the front step of grimmauld place 12 – Bill had to go home, and chance some clothes first, and Charlotte didn't really care about changing clothes – she had been wearing the same for the last three days.

Charlotte was the first to step into the house, and walked toward the kitchen where she was met with a sight she hadn't expected.

Severus, and Sirius were standing in the kitchen, wands pointed at each other's throats, glaring at each other while harry stood, looking helplessly at them. Charlotte glared at the two men. Both of them had averted their eyes from each other, to her.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked placing her hands on either side of her hips. Sirius was about to open his mouth, when she added "No, I actually don't even want to hear it, just go some other place where you can hex each other, and spare the rest of us the duty to clean up your mess"

"Charlotte –"This didn't come from Sirius, but from Severus. She glared at him, not wanting to hear any excuses from any of them.

"Show my father some respect" She hissed, before walking back into the hallway. She smiled at her parents, though she could still feel the blood rushing in her veins. "Living room – they're in the living room" Charlotte said to them. They walked past her, and into the living room. The scattering of several feet were heard, and the sound of her dad greeting her siblings was lifted out into the entrance hall.

Severus walked out into the hallway, he was still looking angry, from whatever it was he and Sirius had been fighting over. But she didn't want to hear it – he knew that her father would be discharged and she had told him in a letter, they would bring him to Grimmauld place, and still he turns up and does something like that.

She was angry with him – and Sirius. But mostly Severus – he had comforted her when she had returned from the hospital the day her dad had been bitten, and yet he did something like that, knowing fully that she would bring her father to Grimmauld place.

She held a hand up when he tried to speak. "I don't want to hear it right now – my dad has just been discharged from the hospital, and the first thing I see when I step into this house, is two grown men standing with their wands pointed at each other's throats, in front of a teenager"

His eyes became hard. "Very well" he said with a cold voice. He made a turn to leave, and she shut her eyes hard - she couldn't let him leave like that.

"Wait" She said. She walked over to him, and as he turned around, planted a kiss on his lips.

"Are you going to do that to Black too?" He asked a mixture of animosity and sarcasm was in his voice. She smirked back at him.

"'course I will" she replied sarcastically hiding it with a smile. The smile faded though, and as though he was reading her thoughts he said –

"I will see you later" in a cold voice. He walked out of the door, and she could hear the faint 'pop' meaning he had disapparated – she wondered why he had sounded so cold.

When she turned around, she got her question answered. Sirius was standing with his arms crossed, looking at her.

"You and Snivellus together now?" He asked with animosity. She pushed past him.

"I don't see how that is any of your business" she hissed back at him, and walked into the living room. Her father came over to hug her, saying it was because of her and – as he said, another clever witch at the hospital, hat he was alive at the moment.

Charlotte merely laughed, and said she now had paid him back for giving her life – she was glad that her dad was alright, but just in case she handed her mum a blood replenisher and told her to give it to him immediately in case that the antidote had a side effect, adding the words, that if anything happened, her mum should send a patronus to her, and get him to the hospital immediately.

She afterward walked home, meeting Emily on the way. Emily had just finished her shift at the hospital, and was walking back to Grimmauld place.

Ever since Emily and Sirius had gotten together, Emily had become a bit of a nuisance to Charlotte – Emily simply wouldn't stop talking about Sirius whenever they were together.

So Charlotte just smiled at her, saying she was too tired to talk, and continued walking.

That was a lie however – she just wanted to get home, to get some peace and quiet.

Only a few minutes after she had come home, she heard a faint popping sound in her living room. She walked in and saw Severus was standing there.

"Black saw us" He merely said.

"He did – I also told him it wasn't any of his business" she cradled herself in her arms, trying not to look him in the eyes. He walked over to her, and lifted her chin up to look at him, she wasn't sure why he suddenly showed her his feelings, why he all of the sudden was there when she needed him, not because she was ungrateful, but she felt like there was more to it than she knew.

"You know, i'm still angry at you for almost hexing Sirius into next week, fully knowing my father would come there" She said looking into his eyes.

"Yes, I gathered you would be" He said, and leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her lips, almost to say he was sorry.

"Why're you doing this?" She asked him "Why, all of the sudden, are you showing me how you feel?" She wasn't complaining though, but she wanted to know why he had changed his mind.

"I thought that was clear" he said in a low voice.

"It's not" she gave him a small smile. "You're a terribly difficult man to figure out"

He sighed, and stepped away from her, crossing his arms in the process.

"See – this is exactly what I mean. You give me just a little preview of your feelings, and then you pull away like this"

He turned around to her again, looked down at her. "Do you have any idea of what people will think about you if they were to see you with me?"

"Yes I do – they will think I'm crazy, or that you have slipped me a love potion. But the truth is, I don't really care what they think, I had enough of that while I was at Hogwarts – I never did anything that might be considered unusual, I went to the quidditch matches, even though I was terrified that they would fly into where I was sitting, and crash the whole thing, I talked clothes, make up, boys and many other girl stuff, even though I just wanted to sit alone with a book" She said. "But I don't care about what people think anymore, if they want to think that I'm crazy then let them – I will know that I'm not"

"But that is exactly it – they will think I have slipped you a love potion, they will assume the worst – especially your brothers and sister" He waved with his hand, and turned around, standing with his back to her.

"I can prove them wrong – and besides, it's not like I'm acting as though I have been slipped a love potion, I'm not clinging to you all the time, I'm not obsessive about you – I just really like you" she cradled herself in her arms. She felt like this conversation wouldn't end anytime soon. They were both stubborn people, who both thought their view was the correct one.

"They won't care about that" he said with a sneer. "Not to mention that you are 11 years younger than me, and I was your former professor"

"Yes, they will probably cling to that fact – but it's not like we're getting married, and about to start a family" she smirked a little. "But seeing my father almost die – I just goes to show that life isn't as long as we might think it is. We don't all get to become the age Dumbledore is – speaking of whom, isn't he the one who always says that love is something we should cherish, and not hide away?"

"Dumbledore have said many things – he isn't correct about everything"

"No, he isn't" she moved over to him to stand in front of him. "But he is right about this"

His eyes were closed, and his arms were still crossed over his chest. He opened his eyes, and looked at her. "You really are an insufferable witch"

She breathed out a laugh. "I do have my moments"

He closed the space between them, and laid his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

"You're not going to spill the beans, so to speak, and tell your family every single detail?"

"Of course not – you've said it yourself how they will react"

"And you are not going to tell anyone else about it either?" He asked her. She looked up into his eyes, she felt a smile press on, but she remained neutral.

"It?"

"You know what I mean" He said, and smirked at her. She smirked back at him, putting her arms up around his neck, trying off boundaries.

"So, if I know what you mean, doing this" She tip toed, and leaned up to graze her lips around his ear lope "wouldn't mind you at all" she whispered into his ear.

He moved a hand away from her back, and put it up to her chin. He turned her to look at him, and he was smirking to her.

"You _are_ an insufferable witch" he said, before he leaned down and captured her lips with his own.

The kiss started out softly, but as the kiss deepened, so did their feelings for each other.

None of them thought about what they were doing, or why they were doing it – they both had so many emotions bottled up inside, they just needed to let them out.

He lifted her up, holding her beneath her thighs; he lifted her into her bedroom, not breaking the kiss as he did.

He gently lifted her down on the bed, before she pulled him down with her.

She rolled them around, sitting on top of him. She smirked down at him, before leaning down, kissing her way to his still buttoned up chest.

She groaned, when she still hadn't even gotten around to buttoning up half of them, she took her wand, and magically opened them up – she stopped for a moment, only to look at his chest. She looked up into his eyes again.

He smirked at her "Eager are we?"

She didn't respond, merely leaned down again, kissing him on his lips.

He pulled her shirt over her, breaking the kiss momentarily, before pulling her down to him again. His hands roamed over her body, exploring her in other words, while hers rested on his chest.

He unclasped her bra, and groaned at the view.

Charlotte smirked at him "Eager are we?"

He pulled her down, and rolled them around so he was lying on top of her.

They removed the last pieces of clothing, and he looked down at her, both of them were panting, trying to catch their breaths.

"Are you sure you want this?" He asked, his eyes clouded with lust. But so was hers.

She went through his hair with her fingers. She smirked. "You think I will regret it?"

"Not at all" he smirked, and leaned back down.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own the Potterverse, the ever lovely J.K Rowling does.<p>

I'd like to thank everyone for your amazing reviews, I didn't actually think you would like this story when i first posted it, so it's amazing to see the response its gotten :D  
>To Lefantdor, you asked if I'm from Germany, but I'm actually from Denmark and we have the same saying, about biting the sour apple here :D<p>

- So i'm not quite sure about the scene where Severus and Sirius are standing with their wands pointed at each other's throats are after the book, but I thought it would fit the story more if it was on Christmas eve - it's mostly like it is in the film, in other words. I hope you enjoyed it regardless :)


	21. Chapter 21

When she woke up the next morning, she felt an arm around her stomach – the arm that belonged to Severus. She could feel his heavy breathing on her neck, meaning he was still asleep.

She moved away from him, gently putting his arm down on the bed. He stirred slightly in his sleep, and for a moment she thought he would wake up, but he merely turned his head the other way.

Charlotte smiled to herself, before she remembered she was naked, and walked out into the bath room to get her bath robe.

It was Christmas morning, she just realized. She had promised she would be with her family – and looking at the time, she was already late. She quickly summoned some clothes – hey as long as it was clean, she didn't really care about what exactly it was, she would get a Weasley sweater that she had to wear anyway.

Walking into the bedroom, seeing Severus still asleep – she had no idea he could sleep that much, she walked over, planted a small kiss on his cheek, putting her hair up into a ponytail, summoning the gifts she had purchased, wrote a note for Severus, telling him where she had gone, before she apparated to the front step of grimmauld place.

She did think about Severus waking up in an empty flat, but he had done the same thing to her once – it was only fair. Well it wasn't exactly the same thing, but it was Christmas day, she had promised to spend it with her family, and she really doubted that Severus would want to spend Christmas with her family.

The door wasn't locked, so she walked straight in.

She could hear from the entrance hall, that they all were up already – and by the sound of it, some of them were arguing.

She passed the kitchen, where Sirius and Emily were shouting at each other, something about taking her for granted, and something about her not thinking about who he was, and why he was trapped in the house.

Charlotte thought it was best for them to sort it out for themselves.

She walked into the living room, where the most of her family was sitting – everyone except Charlie and Percy was there.

"Charlotte" Her mum said the moment she saw her, the moment she saw her, she got up from the sofa, and walked towards her with her arms outstretched. She gave her a crushing hug – it was as though her mum hadn't seen her for several months.

"Mum – I'm glad to see you too" She said with a smile, patting her back softly. When her mum finally pulled away, she looked Charlotte over, moving a lock that had escaped the ponytail out of her face and behind her ear. Another shout was heard from the kitchen in that moment. Charlotte grimaced slightly, but her mum waved it away.

"Leave them be – now, come get your gifts" Charlotte walked over to hug her siblings, giving them each a present – including Harry and Hermione.

For the boys and Ginny, mostly, she got them quidditch stuff – Ron a new pair of gloves, which he had been in need of for a while and some Chudley cannons merchandise; Posters, and badges, that sort of thing.

Ginny received some Holly head harpies' things – a book about Gwenog Jones, and a pair of merchandise gloves, which showed the pictures of all the players on the team.

She gave Harry a book about all the different quidditch teams from the last 100 years in England, a book for Hermione, which she had mentioned a few times that she wanted. For Bill she got him a real dragon tooth necklace– she gave Charlie the same thing, though he might find it ironic as he was working with Dragons, and though their mum frowned upon it, Bill grinned widely.

For her parents, she got them each a new witch and wizard hat – her mum had been talking about getting new ones for a while, so she thought she could ease their troubles a bit, and get them a new one.

Harry and Hermione had both been surprised to have received a gift, but charlotte waved it away dismissively, saying it was nothing at all.

She did get the usual Weasley sweater; it was purple, with a blue 'C' in the middle, along with the bone and wand crossing underneath symbolizing the healing profession.

Sirius and Emily were still fighting out in the kitchen, and at one point Charlotte got scared that they had begun hitting or throwing things after each other, as there was a big crash of glass shattering against the wall, followed by the front door smacking.

Charlotte got up, and told the others to continue on doing whatever they were doing. She carefully walked out into the kitchen, and saw Sirius standing over the table with his palms laid flat against it. His hair hang like a curtain around his face, as he was breathing fast.

"You okay?" She asked, nearing him carefully.

"I'm fine – just fine" he said, but sounded nothing like it. Charlotte picked up a chair that had been knocked over.

"Now, I'm not an empath, but I can tell you are very upset" She walked around to pick up the chairs around him. He looked up at her with anger.

"Why did you have to introduce me to her?" He asked, his eyes flaring angrily. "Why couldn't you just let me wallow in sadness of being alone, instead of introducing me to her?"

"Because" She began looked apprehensive "You were wallowing in sadness – people don't do that and like it at the same time" she said as though it was the most obvious thing she could tell him – it was the most obvious thing.

"So you thought by bringing _her_ into my life, that I became happy instantly and would never leave her side? Well guess again" he snapped "I'm alone again now, so are you happy?"

"Sirius, what happened?" She asked, sitting down on the chair next to him. She raised an eyebrow at him, as he remained silent. "Sit down, and talk with me" she ordered him. He glanced at her, before sitting down, looking down into the table. He folded his hands on the table, fidgeting with them.

"She wants me to meet her family" he answered.

"Oh" Charlotte breathed.

"Yes – I've been telling her for a while that it would be impossible, even though I'd like to have a normal relationship with her, but there's nothing" he said exasperated "About all of this, that's normal"

"No" Charlotte agreed with a slight nod.

"But still she try to get me to meet her family – when she arrived here this morning, she had told her parents and siblings that I would come and spend Christmas with them, but I can't just leave - not only could I risk getting caught, but Dumbledore would throw a fit at me. She started saying that I really don't want to meet her family at all, and that I'm only with her because she's the only woman around who's interested in me – she even went as far as saying that maybe I should just get together with you, because apparently she thinks I have feelings for you, even though I don't – not because you aren't pretty, you're just not my type – well so I found out. But she thinks I have deep feelings for you"

"Don't worry, you're not my type either, and we've already made that clear – so what happened then?"

"She started yelling at me, that maybe everything we had with each other was just a lie, and I had lured her into a trap, because, like she said, I'm a lonely bastard who won't be able to find anyone else. I then told her that I don't have those intentions, and that she might not have known what she went into then. I told her that I'm actually a wanted fugitive, and that's the reason why I can't leave the house"

Charlotte nodded understandably.

"Then she started yelling, that I only used that as an excuse to sit around and do nothing all the time – it's not like I want this. So I told her to get out of my house if she hated being here so much – then she started yelling about me, not fighting over her at all, that I just let her go easily, and took her too much for granted"

Charlotte frowned. This didn't sound like the Emily she knew at all.

Sirius looked at Charlotte, confusion and looking like a big question mark was apparent in his face. "Are all the girls like this? Because if so I'm giving up – hands down, I'm finished. Put a fork in me, because I am done"

Charlotte gave him a reassuring smile. "Not every girl is like that – though many girls are. It's just about finding the right ones – and I wouldn't go for a Hufflepuff girl the next time around, they tend to be a tad bit too dramatic" Charlotte smirked at him. He groaned, and let his head bang against the table.

"I'll talk to her the next time I see her – now please go into the living room and enjoy the first Christmas with your godson; I think he kind misses you in there" She nodded toward the door to the living room.

"You promise you will talk to her for me? Because I kind of like having her around, just not when she's having these crazy mood swings"

"Every woman has crazy mood swings" she said to him, as he walked through the door to the living room.

She sighed, and took out her wand, repairing whatever needed repairing, before she walked back into the living room and saw Sirius smiling with Harry.

Bill poked her, making her turn to him "How did you do that?" He asked.

She shrugged "I'm a healer"

When she came home to her own flat in the evening, Severus wasn't there anymore. She hadn't expected him to be there, but she did think it would have been nice if he had been.

She fell asleep on the sofa – it had been an exhausting day, the Twins had lured her outside in the back yard, and attacked her with magically enchanted snowballs – she hadn't even known there was a backyard.

She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but she felt herself being lifted up. She opened her eyes, and looked up at Severus. He hadn't seen she was awake, but she usually didn't like being lifted up – unless it was in the heat of passion, which this definitely wasn't.

Both out of surprise, and a bit shock, she jumped up, and he, getting a bit surprised as well, dropped her onto the floor.

She quickly regained herself though, and got up. She looked at him apologetic "Sorry – just not the type to be lifted up, and carried off like a princess" He raised his brows at her.

"I have already done that two times" he informed her matter-of-factly. She equally raised her brows at him.

"Twice? What don't I know about?" But he didn't answer her, merely smirked at her. She closed the space between them, putting her arms around him, and pulling him closer to her.

"Did you have a good Christmas?" She asked looking at him.

"It was like every other Christmas I have had – unruly hormone crazed teenagers, who think they can wander about the halls, and do very improper things to each other" he drawled, twirling a lock of her hair between his fingers.

She smirked up at him "So you would say this morning was just a normal Christmas morning as well?"

"Waking up to an empty bed? Yes, I would deem that quite normal for a Christmas morning"

She grimaced slightly "Yeah – I'm sorry about that. I was running out of time, and I had promised – "

He put a finger on her lips, shushing her. "I understand" He said. She gently kissed the finger that was currently on her lips.

He pulled it back, and instead replaced the finger with his own lips. He was much gentler than she had ever imagined – a soft, sweet gentle.

"So" She said, as he pulled back, looking down at her. "Are you planning on changing your Christmas bedtime tradition, or do you want that to be the same as it has always been?" she asked with a smirk.

"I think I will go with the tradition – that has after all, always been my long time favorite" he replied with sarcasm, a smirk planted on his face.

She pulled back and raised an eyebrow. "Alright then" she patted his chest twice "I'll just be going to bed them"

She turned around, but felt two arms snake around her waist and pull her back. He growled quietly into her ear

"Not without me, you are not" His deep voice sent shivers down her spine, but she smirked as she turned around in his arms, placed her hands on either side of his cheeks, and leaned up to kiss him.

He pushed her towards the bed, gently putting her down so he wouldn't hurt her – oh, he was so very careful with her, it made her smirk at him.

She wrapped her left leg around him, as she leaned up to pull him down with her.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own the Potterverse.<p>

So I first heard this one song a couple of days ago, it's called "Your song" and is orginally made by Elton John, but the version by Ellie Goulding fits this chapter, and the chapters in the future very well. Right now i'm playing the song on repeat, because I think it's so sweet and i keep thinking about Snape and Charlotte when I hear it :)


	22. Chapter 22

In the next couple of days, Charlotte walked from the hospital, to grimmauld place, and finally home to her flat. The last part was the only enjoyable one, as Severus would often either come home to her after she had come home, or he would be there when she came home.

Since her promotion at the hospital, she spent most of her time at the hospital, either taking care of patients, or training trainees. It meant she, first of, didn't really see her family much and secondly didn't really see anyone much, besides those at the hospital.

Charlotte had spoken with Emily, but Emily wouldn't budge – she thought Sirius to be a selfish, arrogant man, who in the end wouldn't bring anything good to her. Charlotte tried explaining to her that Sirius was in fact a fugitive, and that he didn't have any other option than sit in grimmauld place every day.

But it was a lost case – Emily just couldn't deal with it.

So Emily had moved her things out of Grimmauld place, and though she had promised Dumbledore she would stay in the order, she made herself busy whenever there was an order meeting, so she wouldn't have to see Sirius.

So once again, Charlotte became an owl, and had to message between Sirius and Emily – luckily Sirius had found himself defeated, and realized there was nothing he could do to win Emily over.

Severus had told her, she shouldn't try to take care of their problems – it was for them to solve out, even though he quite enjoyed it when Sirius was down, and Severus, for once, was up.

But things didn't work out between the two of them, so they agreed, after Charlotte had convinced Emily to go talk with him, to break up and see whatever the future hold for them from then on.

She was happy that Severus didn't change his attitude toward the world, just because they were together, or whatever you chose to call it – he was still snide, cunning, complaining over dunderheads, and very closed in – the last thing which she tried to make just a little better, but had to realize she couldn't.

But it was also those things she loved about him – he didn't wear his emotions on his sleeve, he was a private man.

But there was moments, were she had made him open up to her. He had told her of when he was in school, explained why he hated Sirius and Harry's father so much – he explained what had happened, when Sirius had tried to kill him, or at least tried to scare the magic out of him.

And she finally understood why they were acting that way towards each other – even if he had left, saying she would never understand it.

He came back the next evening, apologizing for the way he left, but the subject didn't come up again, and charlotte left it at that, realizing she would only push him away, if she pushed the subject any further.

Charlotte started working down in the lab, in March, when they were in need of another potioneer down there. Emily took over the trainees for her, and it seemed, with the weather, things started to brighten up – at least until there was an outbreak from Azkaban, and almost every death eater in there had escaped.

The ministry blamed Sirius for the outbreak, saying only a person who had done it before, could do it again.

A few weeks after the outbreak, Charlotte was sitting down in the lab, working on an antidote to a poisonous dragon bite. Juno walked in – completely drenched, it was like raining season outside. She was carrying her glasses in her hands.

Charlotte turned to her while sitting with a phial in her hands. "You know, you can improve your sight with a simple spell"

"I like my glasses – makes me look intellectual" She smirked, taking off her travelling cloak. She pointed her wand at it, and heat poured from the tip of her wand, onto the cloak. "I don't think there's anything about this rain that's normal" Juno said, looking at her travel cloak.

"Yeah, it has been raining none stop – but that's typical for spring weather here in England" Charlotte replied. But Juno didn't look convinced.

"There's nothing typical about this rain – it's like we're living in India during the rain-season or something"

"You sure you aren't just on the edge? I mean with those death eaters escaping, and everything – it's kind of weird" Charlotte tried to push on – she hadn't openly discussed Voldemort with Juno, but she wanted to know if Juno believed in the papers, or if she had an opinion of her own. They hadn't really talked much despite of work related things, before Charlotte went down to work in the lab.

Juno looked at her and sat down on her chair. "Yeah – I mean remember when they in the summer, said that you-know-who is back, or rather Dumbledore and Harry Potter said he was back?" Charlotte nodded "Well, just maybe, I think there's something about it now – why else would the death eaters escape? I'm positive they aren't just out for a coffee break, and then willingly go back to Azkaban afterward"

Charlotte smirked – Juno had such a lovely way to put things. "I'm not quite so certain that Sirius Black helped them escape either – it would just seem weird, that he after almost a year of not being seen, suddenly would do something like that – without anyone seeing them"

"I think the ministry is manipulating us – to think there isn't anything wrong" Charlotte said, looking at her seriously. "I've been thinking about it for a while, and though I've never really liked the ministry, I really think we could use a new minister, sometime soon"

Juno narrowed her eyes at her "You haven't just been thinking about this for a while, have you?"

"Am I really that bad an actress?" Charlotte asked with a grimace, worrying that she maybe had said a tad bit too much.

But Juno smiled at her. "It's alright – I won't tell anyone, if you let me in on what's going on, because I've had the same thoughts for a while"

"Well, maybe you can come with me home after work, and we'll discuss it there?" Charlotte offered, and Juno nodded with a smile.

She looked over at Charlotte's potion, and grimaced at the smell. "A dragon antidote?"

"Yeah – people can really be so careless sometimes" She said, and held her hands up defeated "who messes around with dragons?"

Juno raised her eyebrows. "Your brother?"

"He isn't very concerned about safety either" Charlotte said, adding some toadstool powder. She leaned back, before dropping it in, as the potion flared up momentarily. The potion was done.

She put it into a phial, and cleaned up – it didn't go very well, when she left a mess lying around, and she'd rather clean it up sooner, than later.

When she had finished cleaning it up, she walked out of the lab, and upstairs. She saw Emily on the way, leading some trainees around. She smiled briefly at her, before continue on walking toward the patient who needed the antidote.

"So" She said, entering the room. "Are you ready to be cured?" She asked him, and the only thing he could do – he was covered in bandages, was smile weakly at her.

She poured the antidote down his throat, waiting a few minutes for it to work, before she saw the glow flowing through his body that signaled that it had worked. "I'll be right back with your healer in charge, and you'll be out of those before lunch" Charlotte smiled.

She walked out, and found the healer in charge, before walking down into the lab again, spending the rest of the day down there, working on potions, and talking with Juno and Occasionally Henry as well – Russell was still working on the memory potion, and every time anyone spoke with him, they were scorned.

When Charlotte and Juno both got off from work later in the evening, she and Juno walked into one of the pizza places on the way – Emily had introduced her to pizza, and Juno was halfblood, so she knew everything about pizza.

When they first got home to Charlotte's flat they didn't start talking right away, but after they had eaten, Juno pressed on the matter, and Charlotte told her everything she knew about the order, about Voldemort, about Sirius, and just everything she knew about it.

When she had finished, Juno looked baffled, but she didn't get a chance to say anything, as Severus apparated into the living room.

He looked from Charlotte to Juno. Juno fumbled for Charlotte's arm, looking at Severus.

"Is that who I think it is, or am I imagining things again?" Juno whispered to Charlotte.

"Still seeing things, Miss Thomas?" He asked her in a mocking tone, before turning to Charlotte "Am I intruding on something?"

Charlotte smiled at him "Not at all – we were merely talking"

He raised an eyebrow at her, looking her into her eyes – _Damn it! He's doing it again._ "About what?" he asked slowly in a dark tone.

Charlotte turned to Juno, who looked at Severus terrified, before turning her eyes to Charlotte "Maybe I should just go – Uh, I'll see you at work tomorrow" she said, and leaned in to Charlotte "If he hasn't killed you, that is" She added in a whisper. She stood, took her cloak, and gave Charlotte a fleeting look, before disapparating with a _pop_.

"You let her know _everything_?" He asked her slowly, still with a dark undertone. Charlotte looked at him, raising her eyebrows too.

"Yes – Dumbledore has been saying, the more people who are in on it, the better it is for the order" Charlotte defended her actions, but clearly he wasn't impressed. He looked down at her with narrowed eyes.  
>"How can you know, that she will not go rant us out to the ministry?"<p>

"Because I know her – she wouldn't do such a thing" Charlotte said matter-of-factly. But he didn't buy that, apparently he needed more proof.

"You know her, you say – perhaps you know the story of how the Potters were killed?"

"I do know that story"

"Then you also know they trusted Peter Pettigrew not to spill their secrets to the dark lord, and yet he did" he said through gritted teeth. "And look what happened to them!"

Charlotte stood up from the sofa, and walked up to him. She crossed her arms, and looked at him "As far as I know, I don't have a kid that has been prophesized to bring him down, and it's not like I have told her where the order headquarters is – I've merely told her of what we're doing, and why we're doing it!" She argued.

"And that is quite enough! If the ministry finds out – "

"The ministry won't!" Charlotte interrupted. "I trust her! I trust that she won't tell anyone and that she'll stay quiet about it – if you are so keen on intruding on my thoughts you would know that as well!"

"I wouldn't be able to intrude on your thoughts if you learned how to shield off your mind" he had crossed his arms, and looked at her menacingly.

"You shouldn't feel the need to intrude in the first place!" Charlotte shot back at him. "Besides, if you don't trust my judgment –"  
>"I do" He hissed "I just don't trust others judgment – if she does anything – "<p>

"She won't – now if you trust my judgment, you'll leave it at that" She said with a final glare, and turned around. She took the pizza box from the table, and walked out into the kitchen, folding it together, and throwing it in the trash can.

When she came into the living room again, he'd left. She sat back down on the sofa, and sighed, running a hand through her hair.

She stood up, and grabbed her travel cloak. She needed some air.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - i don't own the Potterverse, J.K Rowling does - and thank god!<p>

- So a bit off topic, there's this roleplaying thing going on, on Facebook called 'Unity and Magic'. It'll be about all 7 Harry Potter books, meaning the stuff going on at hogwarts will be there too. Personally I think it's a great idea to deal with PostPotter depressions, so i think you should check it out :)

And don't worry, Charlotte and Severus will be fixed :)  
>- Thanks for all the reviews, i can't express how happy i am to read every single one of them ^^<p> 


	23. Chapter 23

She had been walking around in circles in the streets of London, wondering why he couldn't understand she needed to trust people outside of the order, that she had a life outside the order – sure she had introduced Emily to the order, and Emily now tried to remain as far away from the order as possible, but she knew Juno wasn't like that – Juno didn't let her emotions get in the way for something she believed in.

But maybe that was what Charlotte had been doing – letting her emotions get in the way.

But of course – how could_ he_ trust her? He didn't even know her, and from what Charlotte had heard from Juno, she hadn't exactly been the most attentive student in her year – as far as Charlotte remembered, Juno had told her, she had a reputation for doing whatever she saw fit.

In the end, she had to realize, that she had to see it from his point of view – every time she tried to come up with arguments of why she was right, another voice in her head told her it was right of him not to trust Juno, bringing up several arguments of why , precisely, he was right.

She knew he was right – they were in a war. She couldn't go around, telling everyone about the order. He was right and she wasn't.

She was just too stubborn to admit it.

When the rain started to drip down from the sky, and it already had been dark for hours, she began to walk home again, thinking it wouldn't do anyone any good if she got sick.

She didn't want to apparate. She just wanted to walk with her thoughts, taking her time.

She was drenched when she stood in front of the door, but she had thought things through – at least to a certain point anyway.

After she had locked herself in, she threw her keys onto the stand next to the door. She had barely taken off her shoes, when she heard footsteps coming up behind her. She instantly withdrew her wand, but she didn't turn around in time to see who it was, before a pair of arms snaked around her waist, pulling her close to the person.

She sighed out relieved, when she felt that it was Severus.

She lowered her wand, feeling his lips on her neck, she sighed out. "I'm sorry" she breathed, closing her eyes.

"Don't be" he whispered softly, grazing his lips over her neck. She moaned softly, as he removed her hair, gaining more access to her neck.

"But I am – you're right" She breathed again. He removed his lips from her neck, and she turned around in his arms, looking up at him.

"Why do you always insist on talking?" he said, his voice deep and somewhat hoarse. He pulled her close to him, leaning down and crushing his lips against hers.

She flung her arms around his neck, only acting upon the desire growing inside of her, and deepened the kiss, pushing him toward the bedroom.

"Why did you come back?" She asked, as she lay in the crook of his arm a while later, lazily drawing circles on his chest.

"You are the ever restless" he closed his eyes with a content sigh. "I realized none of us would come to admit our fault, so I thought I'd better be the bigger man, and come back here"

She smirked up at him. "Did you now - and how _did_ the bigger man react when I wasn't here?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. She breathed out a laugh, as she turned around, pulling herself up so the upper part of her body was resting on his. "It's okay, you don't have to answer" she muttered right after, lowering her head onto his chest.

He moved his hand up, and ran it through her hair, twirling several of her locks between his fingers.

"I'm still sorry about the whole Juno thing" She muttered, turning her head to look him in the eyes. "I know trust is a touchy subject at the moment, but if you look into my eyes, you will know that I do trust her – she helped save my father" He searched her eyes for a moment – she didn't even blink, she didn't want him to consider not considering, if that even made sense.

"Fine" he muttered, though he didn't sound very happy about it.

"Fine?"

"I believe that _is_ what I said" he smirked at her, closing his eyes.

"So you trust me?" She pulled herself up, hovering slightly over him with her upper body. He opened his eyes and looked up at her again. He didn't answer; instead he gently pulled her down so he could kiss her lips.

When Charlotte finally had spoken Severus into letting her bring Juno to one of the meetings – and unfortunately confirming Juno's thoughts that Charlotte and Severus was together, when Juno walked in on them one day, Charlotte also had to make Juno promise that she wouldn't tell anyone about Charlotte and Severus – they just weren't ready for any scolding from her family, the order members or her family especially her family, she still didn't know how they would take it, if they found out.

But Charlotte had spoken with Dumbledore, and he too, had agreed to let Juno into the order.

So one day, after they both had finished at the hospital, they walked to Grimmauld place, just like she had done a few months before with Emily – though Juno was a bit more laidback about it all.

Even at the meeting, Juno wasn't sure it was 100% for her – especially not since Sirius kept glancing at Juno and whispering with Remus under the meeting.

Charlotte frowned at him – she did not want Juno to go through what Emily had gone through, meaning she reminded herself, that after the meeting she would have a little talk with Sirius.

Unfortunately the meeting was very long. Dumbledore wanted to explain them the dangers, now that the other death eaters had escaped from Azkaban, meaning they would have to increase the guard around the prophecy, to make sure none of the death eaters would try to get it.

"We can't have more than two people guarding the department – you want to raise suspicion?" Remus asked Kingsley, as Kingsley had proposed they would guard them in groups of five at the time.

"No" Kingsley said through gritted teeth. "I want to make sure the prophet is safe, Remus"

"And the prophet will be, unless we get the ministry on our backs" Remus shot back at him. It was like watching a match of wizard chess – a very intense match of wizard chess.

"The ministry will be the least of our concerns, if _they _get the prophet"

"Would the two of you stop your bickering?" Charlotte's mum said – well, it was what the rest of them were thinking; even Dumbledore seemed to be looking bored with the conversation.

"Yes, we cannot be arguing amongst each other – we mustn't start fighting, or we won't stand a chance"

"How about just keeping the guarding to two people, and let one be under an invisibility enchantment?" Tonks spoke up – Charlotte looked at her, almost surprised. She hadn't spoken with Tonks in a long time, and she hadn't really spoken at the meetings. It was good to see her, and Charlotte realized, that maybe she had been slacking on her friendship with Tonks – friends were important in these times, after all.

Tonks glanced her way, and sent a small smile – perhaps she'd been thinking about the same thing, or something like it. They had been such good friends, and now it was as though they weren't even on speaking terms – perhaps it was time for a girl night in, or at least something like it.

When the meeting was over, Sirius looked at Juno, which reminded Charlotte that she needed to have a little talk with Sirius – why was there so many people she needed to talk with? Oh right – healing, trying to solve issues all the time, she really hated that part of her sometimes.

She took Sirius by the arm, and pulled him into the living room, and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at him.

"What?" Sirius asked with a grin.

"The way you look at Juno – you know, you've barely come out of one relationship, you don't want to start another one" Charlotte said, unimpressed.

"Relax – I don't want a _relationship_ with her" he grinned, as though Charlotte wouldn't understand that little innuendo. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm watching you Black – I don't bring women here for you to bed"

"Look – I'm not going to do anything, I'm just saying she's a pretty witch, very different from Emily too, but I'm not going to rush into anything" He said, crossing his own arms.

"You're not going to go into anything at all – Sirius, I'm watching you" she pointed two fingers at her eyes, and then at him, before she opened the door to the kitchen.

"Well I hope you're enjoying the view then!" He called from the living room. She grimaced shutting her eyes tight. When she opened them, Juno looked at her concerned.

"Don't ask" Charlotte said, turning to her mum.

"Will you be coming with us home for dinner, dear?" Her mum asked, walking over and putting a lock of charlotte's hair behind her ear.

"Sorry mum, not tonight – I have to get up early tomorrow" She smiled at her. She kissed her mum on the cheek, gave her parents and bill a hug goodbye, before turning to Tonks who was about to leave as well.

"Hey tonks" Charlotte said, as Juno was following her out into the entrance hall. Tonks turned around, and smiled at her. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

"I am – why?"

"Just wondering if you wanted to drop by my flat – have a girl evening, or whatever you chose to call it" Charlotte smiled. Tonks beamed.

"I'd love to – I've really missed you Charlotte – it's like you've been away, except you've been here" She frowned "Does that make sense?"

Charlotte chuckled. "Yeah, it does – just swing by my flat when you can, I'll be home at five tomorrow" Charlotte said. They hugged goodbye, before Tonks opened the door, and disapparated.

Juno had agreed on coming back to the order meetings – though she did not like Sirius at all, least of all the way he was looking at her.

The evening with Tonks was better than Charlotte had expected – Tonks had fallen more in love with Remus, and Charlotte knew all about how it felt to feel like the other part didn't want to be with one, when all one wanted, was to be with the person.

Charlotte wanted to tell Tonks about her and Severus, but it seemed Tonks had already guessed it – apparently Sirius had spilled the beans to Remus, who had told it to Tonks. Tonks had promised not to tell anyone else though, a promise she had made to Remus, and not to anyone else.

But it was nice – sitting with Tonks, and just talking like they had in the beginning – and to speak openly about her feelings for Severus – it was like a load had been taking off her shoulders, and she could breathe freely, knowing she had at least someone to talk with – someone who knew the feelings she was experiencing.

She had also come to realize, during her talk with Tonks, that she might not love another man as much as she loves Severus – it would crush her, if anything were to happen between them. But she doubted that. She figured Severus had gotten as used to her, as she had to him – they had found peace in each other, or at least that's what it seemed like to Charlotte. She was happy, and he was happy too – it was again her instinct that told her this, she could just sort of feel it.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own the Potterverse, the ever lovely J.K Rowling does!<br>- First, Happy belated birthday to J.K Rowling, Harry Potter AND Joey Richter, all of whom have made my life just a bit more magical :)  
>Second, I don't want to brag, but I'm just so excited - I have gotten into Pottermore early! I hope most of you have as well :D I'm sorry I haven't updated like i usually do, but i'm working on something besides this story, and i'm really excited for it :)<br>- Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)


	24. Chapter 24

Charlotte tried as much as she could to keep in contact with everyone, but as the days grew longer, so did her working hours – Vampires had been at large, and wanted to feed on as many people as possible, as when the sun in a few months wouldn't go down at all, they were desperate to feed enough to last the summer over.

This also meant she had to make a hell of a lot of anti vampire potions, as everyone was scared of the vampires.

On top of that, Dumbledore had fled from Hogwarts, after Umbridge had caught a group of students – Dumbledore's army, lead by Harry, or according to Umbridge and the ministry, it was led by Dumbledore. Severus had told her about it – he also believed that Voldemort was still trying to connect through the link Harry and Voldemort had. He had tried to teach Harry how to close the link, but Harry was stubborn – he was convinced that Severus was evil, and merely acting as though he was one of the good guys.

Charlotte knew better, of course, she would know if he was evil.

If anyone had been in doubt, they knew now that the war was coming, and it probably wouldn't be long.

One day in the end of June, while Charlotte was working late, Juno had been visiting Grimmauld place – she was beginning to warm up to Sirius, though promising him nothing more than a friendship, Charlotte could tell that Juno really liked him – and that was why she wanted to take it slow.

It was the end of the evening, when Charlotte received word that a couple of people had been sent to the Hospital after a battle at the ministry.

She hurried up from the lab, and everyone was buzzing about Voldemort, and the order.

Simmons ordered her to take care of the patients that had come in – they had gotten a separate room for themselves, three in each room.

She walked into the room she had been assigned, and found Tonks, Juno, and Sirius in a bed for themselves – Tonks was out, but Juno and Sirius was talking happily with each other. Juno then caught sight of Charlotte.

"Charlotte! You missed out on all the fun!" Juno said, very, very cheerful.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow – Juno wasn't usually this chirpy.

"What happened to you – why is tonks out?" She asked Sirius, who merely grinned at Juno.

"Juno saved me, is what happened" He said happily.

Charlotte put a hand on her hip. "The story, please, not the reason why you are here, right now"

She summoned a chair, and put it between Sirius's and Juno's beds. Sirius then told the story of how Harry apparently had been tricked to the ministry, along with five others – Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Neville and a girl named Luna. They had been lured there by Voldemort, who had planted an image in Harry's brain of Sirius being held hostage at the ministry – Charlotte asked why Harry hadn't considered that Sirius wasn't about to risk his life by going out at all, but it seemed Harry hadn't been thinking. So the six teenagers had gone to the Ministry for a rescue mission, thinking Sirius was in need of rescuing.

Severus had been told by Harry briefly before, that Voldemort held Sirius hostage, or rather Harry thought he held Sirius hostage, so he had sent a message to those at Grimmauld place, telling them of what was happening.

Remus, Tonks, Sirius, and Juno called the other order members – Kingsley and Mad-eye, to help out at the ministry, they had also alarmed Dumbledore, courtesy of Kingsley who knew where he was.

They got there just in time to see the prophet be destroyed by Neville who had dropped it, and that caused the death eaters there to be really pissed.

They battled the death eaters – Ron had been hit by one of the brains in the brain department or something, and couldn't fight at all.

Then Bellatrix Lestrange had tried to kill Sirius, but Juno had seen it, and created a shield to protect him, apparently realizing her feelings for him – which evidently made Charlotte grimace, for though she wanted her friend to be happy, why did it have to be with Sirius.

Voldemort had appeared, and battled harry, but then Dumbledore came, pushing Harry aside, and battled Voldemort instead. Voldemort evidently disappeared in front of the minister and his staff.

When Sirius had finished telling the story, Charlotte ordered for them to rest – apparently Juno had been hit with a gone wrong spell, so instead of being in pain, she was quite the opposite, she'd been hit with a joy charm, and found happiness in everything.

She prescribed some potions for the two of them, before tending to Tonks.

Ron and the other students had been sent to Hogwarts for healing instead of the hospital – Dumbledore thought that safer, seeing as they were students.

But she was glad to know they were alright – and she would have a serious discussion with them about rescue missions in the future.

When she got home later that evening – way later, she had expected Severus to be there, but he wasn't.

She fell asleep, with her arm on the other side of the bed.

She didn't get much sleep though, because a noise woke her up only a few hours later. She took hold of her wand, and walked out into the entrance room, only to find a figure lying on the floor. She lit up the room, and like almost a year before, it was Severus, and like the year before, he was bleeding.

"Oh Merlin" She said terrified. She really hated this – seeing him in pain, and bleeding like that.

"Charlotte – "he managed to say before he blacked out. She did the same she had done the year before, and levitated him into the living room, putting him down on the sofa.

She cut open his shirt with her wand, summoning several potions, before lifting her wand over him, muttering spells, and incantations.

She poured the blood replenishing potion into his mouth, making sure he had swallowed it, before gently putting his head down on the sofa again.

She suspected the same spell had been used – the same horrifying spell, like the last time.

She went out into the entrance room, and cleaned up the blood – she really hated that part.

Unlike the last time, she left him sleeping in the living room, pulling over a chair, and watching over him – she couldn't lose him now.

She had been sitting there for hours, just watching him, throwing a blanket or two over him when she saw him shivering, and nearly falling to sleep too, before he opened his eyes, and looked around weakly.

"Charlotte" he said with a weak voice. Charlotte instantly opened her eyes, and was at his side. She smiled at him, feeling his forehead – a fever.

"We can't keep meeting like this" She said with a sad smile, though she was more than relieved that he was awake.

He closed his eyes hard "You insufferable silly witch" he said, but it was with a tad bit amusement in his voice. She went down onto the floor, sitting on her knees.

She pulled away a lock of hair that kept falling down into his face. "Are you soon going to tell me what is happening, when you come to me, bleeding all over?" She asked with a quiet voice. He opened her eyes, and looked at her painfully.

"Are you in pain – do you need a potion?" She asked instantly, but he shook his head.

"I'll tell you tomorrow" he said, still with a weak voice. He tried to sit up in the sofa, but Charlotte pushed him down.

"You're not going anywhere" Charlotte said. He sighed.

"Can't I at least move myself to the bedroom?" He asked exasperated.

"Oh – sure, but let me help you" Charlotte said. She helped him up, grimacing at all the blood on the sofa – he might need another replenisher.

But she got him into the bedroom, though it took a bit longer than usual, which was obvious. She gently helped him down on the bed. She gave him her pillow so he had more comfort. He groaned slightly.

Charlotte gave a short shaky laugh – she was still horrified about what had happened to him "Don't you remember what I said to you the last time I was at Hogwarts?"

"Be careful" he groaned, and gave her a small smirk. "Did you expect me to do as you say?"

She leaned over him, kissing him gently. He pulled away after a few seconds though, groaning quietly, while looking her in the eyes. He gave her a pointed look.  
>"Right, you should take it easy" She smiled at him, but he none the less moved his arm around her, trying to pull her close to him. She looked him in the eyes. "I really wish you <em>would<em> be careful though" he closed his eyes, and thinking he had drifted off to sleep, she smiled at him "I don't want to lose you" she added quietly. To her surprise he opened his eyes.

"You thought I was asleep" he said with a weak voice, smirking slightly at her. She breathed out a laugh.

"Yes I did" she said "But I mean it – I don't want to lose you"

She didn't know if it was the fever talking, but he smiled at her, and said three little words "I love you"

She leaned down, and kissed him again, a tear rolled from her eye. He gently took up his hand, groaning in slight pain as he did, and wiped the tear away. When she pulled back, she breathed out another laugh.

"I love you too" She said. He tried to make her lie down, but still being weak, she lied down, on her own, in his arm, and they both fell asleep.

The way she was awoken the next morning, was not a way she had hoped to be awoken – ever. She awoke by the sound of her door being broken in, and fell onto the floor. It was such a big crash; she instantly opened her eyes, and instantly reached for her wand – though she didn't get to it, before she looked at the people who had broken down her door.

"Mum – dad" She said looking at them astounded. They both flushed red, when they saw Severus was lying next to her. Apparently he had been awakened by the crash as well and like her; he had reached for his wand, and had actually reached it.

"Uh we'll be in the living room, dear" Her mum said, pointing at the door and it flew up, and attached itself to the hinges again.

She turned to look at Severus, who was just as stunned as she was. She grimaced. "You stay here" she kissed him on the cheek, before patting him gently on the arm. He made a move to get up, but she pointed her finger resolutely at him. "Stay – or I'll tie you to the bed"

He leaned back down, but smirked up at her. She found her bath robe, and walked out of the room, pointing her finger at him, signaling for him to stay.

She found her parents in the living room, her dad was pacing, while her mum was sitting on the sofa, completely flushed red – she also noticed her mum had cleaned the sofa from blood, something she had forgotten to the night before.

"Uh – not to sound ungrateful" She started, and they turned to her "But what are you doing _here?"_

Her mum was about to open her mouth, but her dad turned to her – she couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or angry.

"What we are doing _here? _What is _he_ doing _here_?" He demanded – okay, he was angry.

"Oh Merlin – Uh look, I might as well just say it as it is"

"Yes, please do" Her dad said through gritted teeth, he crossed his arms and looked at her. It made her slightly angry that he was behaving as though she was a child. Despite what she had said to Severus, she felt an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him. Her dad snarled at him "Get your hands off of my daughter!"

"Mr. Weasley I've had my _hands_ on your daughter many times before, so I fail to see why I should get them off her now" He said as though it was the most obvious thing he had ever said.

Her dad turned to her, but her mum rose from the sofa, and put a hand to her dad's chest, before she turned to Charlotte and Severus.

"Charlotte – explain please" It was odd to see that it was her mum be the calm one, and her dad who, well was the one losing his touch with earth.

"The long or the short story?"

Her mum looked at Severus, and fidgeted with her fingers "I think the long story is best"

Her dad turned around however, and looked at Severus angrily "Molly it's clear that he is taking advantage of _our_ daughter!"

"Arthur – "

"How else can you explain the blood?"

"I believe the blood was mine" Severus spoke. Her mum looked at him confused. "You see, I had been in an accident, and your daughter was ever so lovely and decided to help me out"

Charlotte looked up at him – he was staring straight at her parents.

"So you aren't hurt then, Charlotte?" Her mum asked her.

"Not in the least"

Her mum turned to her dad with her hands on her hips.

"Oh you thought the same Molly" Her dad said, and turned around. Her mum turned back to Charlotte.

"Now, can you tell me what is going on with, um, you?" She looked from Charlotte to Severus.

Before she could speak, however, Severus spoke.

"Is it not clear? I am in love with her, and she is in love with me" he said, and added through gritted teeth "However hard that may seem"

Charlotte looked at her mum and gave her a short smile, and nodded once. She sat back down on the sofa – even her dad looked astonished.

"For how long?" She asked Charlotte.

"Since the Yule ball at Hogwarts when I was there" She admitted.

"So long?" Her mum asked, putting her hands onto her chest, as though she had trouble breathing. Charlotte nodded. "Oh Charlotte – and here I thought you were in love with Sirius!"

"Wait – what?" Charlotte looked at her confused "You thought – oh no" She grimaced. She felt Severus's grip tighten on her shoulder.

"How long has this been going on then – I hope nothing was going on while you were his apprentice" Her dad said, his face still red, but not as much as it had been before.

"No, dad" She looked up at Severus, she didn't want to say anything if he didn't feel comfortable with it.

"Since Christmas – I comforted your daughter, when she came home from the hospital, after saving you" he said to her dad.

"But you were okay -"

"Obviously she was not" Severus interrupted her mum. "I have not taken advantage of your daughter, and quite frankly I didn't want any of this to happen in the first place, but it seems some things are stronger than others"

"Charlotte – "Her dad looked at her.

"It's true enough" She said, and sighed. "Look – why did you come here in the first place?" She asked them, wanting them to leave so she could talk with Severus in peace – not to mention she could feel, that he was heating up, and was sweaty which wasn't very good.

"We just wanted to tell you Ron would be discharged from the hospital wing, and wanted to ask you if you would want to come with us to Hogwarts, but you are busy, as we can see" Her mum said.

"I am – and though it was nice of you to think of me, try not to break my door down the next time, and try something called knocking" She smirked at them.

"Arthur" Her mum said, hitting him on the chest. "Well then, we won't stay any longer then – But Charlotte we will discuss this sooner or later"

"Right" Charlotte said, clapping her hands together – she followed them out to the door, hugging them goodbye, all though her dad was a bit stiff and probably still angry, he hugged her none the less, telling her to be careful.

When she had closed the door, she walked in behind Severus, snaking her arms around him, he laid his arm around her and pulled her over to stand in front of him.

"I'm terribly sorry about my parents – they have never really learned the meaning of the words private life" she said, looking him in the eyes, she took her hand up, and touched him on the forehead. He was still warm. "And I'm sorry they had to find out this way – but before you saying anything, I want you to go into bed again. You still have a fever" She said to him. He sighed.

"Charlotte, I - "

"No – just please, do as I say for once – I'll come shortly" She smirked at him, and leaned up to kiss him.

"You're an insufferable witch" he whispered to her kissing her back, before he turned around and walked into her bedroom again.

She walked out into the kitchen, and made some tea – he had to relax as much possible. She also got him some water, just in case.

When she joined him in the bedroom, he had been waiting for her, sitting up in the bed. He took one of the mugs of tea, and took a sip of it, grimacing. "You're horrible at making tea" he commented, before placing the mug on the bedstand on his side.

"Yeah I know – that's also one of the reasons why I brought you some water" she smiled at him, and handed him the glass of water. He just took the glass, and put it next to the mug on the nightstand.

She had put her glass and mug down on the bedstand next to her, so she turned to him.

"I'm still very sorry about the way they found out – I hadn't even planned on telling them" she said quietly. He moved a lock of hair out of her face – the one that always fell down over her face. He smirked slightly.

"Your hair is very unruly" he commented.

She looked at him surprised. "That's all you have to say?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "It's not like I can say anything to make them forget about it, and now they know – the cat is out of the bag, so to speak" She breathed a small laugh. "And why had you not planned on telling them?"

"Because of how they're reacting – they're thinking you're the bad guy" She smirked at him "Luckily for you, I like bad guys – especially those like you"

"Merlin I hope there are not anymore like me out there" He said with a small smirk.

"Me neither – that means I can have you for myself" She grinned, and leaned down to plant a kiss on his lips.

"You are quite a selfish witch then" he smirked at her, as she pulled back.

"Yes well – who can blame me, when such a handsome man as yourself is lying in my bed" She grinned at him.

He huffed mockingly. "More like an old man"

"It's good I like men who are older and more experienced then" She grinned, and leaned down to him again and kissed him passionately. She felt his hand move onto her back, moving up and down the side of her back, gently pushing up her nightgown. He deepened the kiss, and pushed his tongue into her mouth. She moaned into his mouth, as his tongue found hers, and dominated it completely. His tongue danced against hers, as his hand pulled up her nightgown. It was with much regret that she pulled back, and gave him apologetic look.  
>"I'm sorry" She grimaced "But you need rest" She gave him a small apologetic smile.<p>

"You're an evil witch, has anyone ever told you that?" He asked, as he put an arm around her pulling her closer to him. She found his hand, and intertwined her fingers with his. She looked up at him – she hadn't held his hand like this, and wondered if he would be okay with it. But as he closed his eyes, he gave her a smile, before he made a soothing notion on the back of her hand with his thumb.

She smiled at him, and leaned up to kiss him "Try to get some sleep" She said when she pulled back. He held his eyes closed, and merely smirked at her.

"You're insufferable" He muttered, as she made herself comfortable in the crook of his arm.

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><p>Disclaimer - i don't own the potterverse, J.K Rowling does.<p>

I hope you liked it :)


	25. Chapter 25

She took the day off from the hospital, as she wanted to know what had happened to Severus – without getting distracted all the time. He told her everything, as he had promised her, and she was horrified when she heard of the things he had been through.

The last time he had shown up bleeding, it had been because Voldemort wanted to punish him for not coming sooner than he did – he hadn't gotten around to punishing him, since Voldemort apparently had been busy planning. But that evening, he had gotten around to doing it, and he had done it with more than a cruciatus curse.

The night before, had been because Voldemort was angry that Severus hadn't shown up in the ministry to help the death eaters get the prophecy.

So again he had taken it out on Severus, not only because many of his death eaters were now imprisoned, but also because Severus hadn't shown up.

She felt a personal hatred for Voldemort – the things he did to his so called followers whenever they did something that didn't please him. It was incredible anyone would want to join him, as they would get tortured for making small mistakes.

But apparently Voldemort was good at manipulating people, luring them in with power, and glory – it's no wonder the pureblood population is thinning out, they're killing themselves off.

The school holiday came up, and apparently her parents hadn't told her siblings about her relationship with Severus – words couldn't express how much she loved them for that, though she understood why they felt it was a pressing matter for her to tell them – especially Bill, which she also felt guilty over. Her and Bill had never held anything a secret from each other, and Bill would be bound to find out one way or another. So one evening, when she was visiting the burrow and the teenagers – every one of them, had gone to bed, she called her parents, bill and evidently fleur together, and told them the story of how she fell in love with Severus, and how he had comforted her on the day after her dad had been attacked by the snake.

Bill grimaced, but she assured him, that Severus didn't comfort her in _that_ way – at least not that night.

Bill didn't quite like it, just like their dad, but they accepted her feelings – saying there wasn't much they could do to keep her away from him, as they knew she would just go against their words, and still see him no matter how much they would object to it.

Juno and Sirius were still trying to take it slowly, but after that episode in the ministry, it was like they had both seen the light, and Juno was beginning to warm up to him – he took it slowly, as he now was a free man after the ministry had realized he hadn't done a thing to anyone his whole life, and she just wanted to take it slowly, as she didn't want to rush into anything. But even Charlotte had to admit, they were a good couple – they matched each other, not to mention they were both Gryffindors, and usually Gryffindors functioned best with other Gryffindors – not a house prejudice, merely an observation she'd made.

At the hospital, Charlotte made sure they had lots of antidotes for – well anything really. Since they now, officially, were in a war, the production of antidotes had gone up – everyone wanted one, just in case.

They'd kept the other antidote for the snake that had bitten her dad just in case it would happen again. It was stored safely away in her locker, which could only be opened with her wand – and it had to be her wand, a copy wouldn't work.

Many people also came in with amulet problems; people were going crazy and wanted to protect themselves as much as possible, even though most amulets never worked – instead they burned holes through people's skin, leaving scorch marks and wounds on their chests.

In the middle of July, the weather suddenly turned, and they experience heat waves, and heat records – she swore by her life, one day they had 40 degrees in the sun.

It didn't exactly help with all the death eater activity that had been going on either, nor that the minister had been replaced by another bloke named Scrimgeour – none of them could stop the death eaters that wrecked havoc anyway, they had already trashed several bridges in the middle of London – they clearly didn't care about the statute of secrecy.

It was also around that time, that Severus slowly started getting more reserved than he had before. She didn't like it – it was as though he knew something would happen, something awful. But whenever she tried talking about it with him, he would merely smile at her, and pull her in for a kiss, making her forgetting everything about questioning him about it.

He also seemed to be around more – again, as though time was running out. But she shrugged it off with the thought, that he merely just wanted to know she was safe, and not in the clutches of death eaters – just thinking about the scenario of if Lucius Malfoy could keep her trapped gave her chills.

The time she spent together with Severus, was a time she treasured – though they fought over some things, like he thought she should cut back hours at the hospital, and to keep her safer, including apparating to and from home instead of walking. Naturally she didn't listen to him – the hospital was her sanctuary, nothing would happen to her there, and sure she could apparate to and from her flat, but it wouldn't help much, as if she did get captured, she could just apparate away.

But other than the safety issues, they were happy together – Charlotte had even found herself thinking many times, that she would be happy if she could spend the rest of her life, just lying in his arms.

She didn't get vacation that year, but did come to celebrate Harry's birthday at the burrow – it was a small thing, but it was nice – Tonks was there as well, and seeing her made Charlotte so sad on the inside. Her hair was a mousy brown, and she looked sad all the time.

Apparently she had tried telling Remus that she loved him, but he wouldn't hear anything of it – he didn't believe he was right for her, telling her he was too old, too poor, and too much of a werewolf for her.

So Tonks had done what every woman in her place would have done – gone depressed, heartbroken in other words.

Charlotte felt for her friend – she had known how it felt. Those months where she avoided coming to order meetings so she wouldn't see Severus, and feel the stab in her heart every time – she could imagine that feeling was ten times worse for Tonks, and Charlotte just wanted to slap Remus across the cheek, telling him to get it together, and cherish it when a young pretty witch like Tonks was in love with him.

"You just have to let them sort it out for themselves" Severus said one evening, as Charlotte had told him about it. "And besides, he is right you know – he's dangerous for her"

Charlotte looked up at him and scolded him "Werewolf or not, he can't deny his feelings for her no matter how hard he is trying"

"I believe this is bigger than mere feelings" He huffed "For the first time in my life, I am agreeing on his actions – he is merely trying to keep her safe"

"So you would have done the same, if you were in his shoes?" She asked him, looking him in the eyes.

"Yes – though if I were in his shoes, I wouldn't be lying here, exhausted, and still not sleeping because a certain witch is keeping me awake" he smirked at her.

"Well then, this certain witch can just leave" She smirked back, but kept lying there. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't see you leaving" he said with a smirk.

"I know – it's just far better lying here. Don't worry, I'll punish you one way or another" she smirked at him.

"Really – are you sure you have enough energy for that?" He was still smirking, running his hand up and down her back. She smirked at him, and swung a leg over him, sitting on top of him. She leaned down to him.

"I thought you just said you were tired of me" She whispered into his ear.

"No, I said I was tired – not of you" He replied back to her, taking his hand up to turn her head to him.

"You should get some sleep then" She said with a smirk, and swung her leg back, lying down on the bed, turning her back to him.

He made a growling noise into her ear, and pulled her around, and kissed her passionately. When she pulled back, she was looking into his eyes – words couldn't express how much she enjoyed lying in his arms, and just look into his eyes. She smiled at him, snuggling closer to him, as he put an arm around her.

A few weeks later, Severus was pacing in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, looking at the younger wizard with great interest.

"Has it ever crossed your brilliant mind that I don't want to do this anymore?" Severus had stopped up, and crossed his arms. He looked at the older wizard.

"You promised me, Severus" Dumbledore said, studying the younger wizard standing before him.

"That was before – "

"Charlotte? Surely you have not forgotten about Lily Potter"

Severus's eyes became hard. "I have not forgotten about Lily _Evans_" He sneered "And was it not you who told me I should go to _her_?"

"Yes, I faintly remember telling you that – but that was before I knew, what I now know" He folded his hands on the desk – his withered hand was lying on top of the healthy hand. "Really Severus, I am surprised. I hadn't known you would become this in love with her – so much you have forgotten your initial loyalty"

"I have not forgotten anything" he hissed "I have not forgotten that it was my fault that _she_ died, and I have not forgotten what my task has been ever since"

"Good – then it will be no trouble for you to stay on the path, and do what I ask you to do"

"You are asking me to _kill_ you! Have you no idea of what Charlotte will think of me after I have done the deed?" He started pacing again, just walking four steps before turning around, and doing the same.

"I am sure she will remain loyal to you – if you can convince her to change sides with you"

Severus stopped up again, and looked at the older wizard as though he was insane – he quite possibly also could be, the damages the ring had done. "Have you no idea who she is?" He billowed, walking over to the desk and slammed his hands down onto the desk. "She is a Weasley – the most known bloodtraitor family there is! She will stand no chance against the dark lord, and his followers!"

"Unless you can convince them that she is nothing like her family – she has after all been quite in the background, and is a notable healer at St. Mungos, I'm sure there will be no trouble, convincing them that she is a firm believer of blood purity"

"Then you don't know her like I do!" He hissed "I will have a better chance at convincing the dark lord to stop hating muggles and muggleborns!"

"My boy, love can make people do silly things – I have seen the look in her eyes when she is looking at you, she would do anything for you, even change sides"

Severus slammed his hand down onto the table again, his eyes narrowing threateningly at the older wizard "I will _not_ make her change sides – there must be another way!"

Dumbledore sighed, and looked at him. "There is another way"

"It better be a good one" He said through gritted teeth. "I have already lost one woman to _him_ – I will not lose another"

"And you won't – the way I see it, you have two choices" He said "You can a, erase her memory and send her to live in America, or b, make her change sides. The choice is yours"

"I can't possibly make that choice! I can't be the ruler of her life!"

"You have a year, my boy – I'm sure you will do the right thing"

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><p>Disclaimer - I don't own the Potterverse, J.K Rowling does.<p>

- Again, thank you for all the lovely reviews, they really do make my day :3


	26. Chapter 26

Charlotte went with the teenagers, her parents, Sirius, Juno and the twins to platform 9 and three quarters September 1st. She knew of course, that Severus would be the defense against dark arts teacher that year, but she wasn't about to tell her siblings that – she hadn't even gotten around to telling them of her relationship with him, which she knew, they would be pissed about when they heard, so naturally she chose the easy way out, and decided to write them once they were at Hogwarts – also telling them to be nice to him, and don't make any unnecessary trouble.

During the holiday, Dumbledore had asked if some of the order members could go to Hogwarts, and stand guard just in case anything should happen, and some had said yes, including Sirius and Juno – Juno would be working alongside Poppy, which should go fairly well, as Charlotte had heard plenty of stories how Juno had gotten herself in danger at Hogwarts – mostly during quidditch matches, where she had been a chaser.

Charlotte would have scolded the twins, had it not been for the fact that they were very successful – their shop was practically the only one still running in Diagon alley, which was a pretty huge thing.

After she had hugged Ginny goodbye, she turned to Ron, Harry and Hermione

"Now, please, when I say this, for the love of Merlin, do it" She started out, and the three of them looked at each other confused. "Don't get into trouble – and stay away from that weird Malfoy kid - I know, especially you Harry" She looked at harry "Find him suspicious, and so do I – he is a Malfoy, no good can come of him"

Ron and Harry sniggered to each other "But please, even if he unleashes dragons in the school, and the dragon eats a teacher, don't try to follow him around to spy on him – even if he is weird and creepy" She added with a smirk.

"Don't worry – I'll personally make sure they won't" Hermione said with a bright smile. Ron gave her an odd look, and Harry seemed as though he wasn't even listening - that or imagining a dragon eating Severus, which she was fairly sure Harry wouldn't have anything against. Charlotte merely smiled at them, knowing she couldn't get any more out of them than she had.

She waved goodbye to them as the train started moving, and only left a cloud of black smoke behind. She smiled to her mum, who had been letting a few tears fall from her eye – it was Ron's 2nd last year and that always made her emotional. Charlotte hugged her mum, reminding her Ginny still had three years left.

She knew Severus wouldn't join her later that evening, but she still missed him – she'd gotten so used to have him lying in the bed next to her, she couldn't fall asleep.

She wondered for a fleeting moment if she could allow herself to visit him at Hogwarts – just to spend the night with him. But she already knew it would be more difficult to enter Hogwarts, than to ride on a unicorn back.

But then again, she could just send a small owl to Dumbledore, asking permission – Dumbledore already knew of her relationship with Severus, so he would understand – he was after all the man who always preached love to the order.

But no she couldn't be that desperate – it was good for their relationship to have a little time apart, isn't that what everyone says? That in a good relationship you have to be apart from each other just a little, or the relationship would be unhealthy as the people involved would become too dependent on each other.

Yes, that was what people had been telling her – she just didn't like it one bit.

But she refrained from sending an owl, and instead tried to enjoy the space she now had in her bed – even though she didn't really enjoy all the space and much rather wanted him to be there to fill it out. But she would have to wait, at least a little while.

She had done it before, so she could do it again – no matter how reliant she'd gotten on him.

But he didn't visit her the day after either, and not the day after that either – in fact a whole week had gone by, before she had had enough, and she sent an owl to Dumbledore requesting a visit to Hogwarts.

But he had replied she couldn't – that it would be much too dangerous for her and the students, if anyone were to visit the school. He had completely left out mentioning anything about Severus, or if he could open the floo up, just to his quarters.

She wrote back to him, as he must obviously have misunderstood her letter to him - but he gave her the same answer, that it could not be done.

She understood, of course, that Dumbledore wouldn't want to jeopardize his students safety, but it wasn't like he didn't know her – he'd known her for most of her life, and even told her that he trusted her, so why wouldn't he let her see Severus? Something was up with that, and she didn't like it.

She'd tried writing Severus, but he hadn't been writing her back – on normal circumstances he wrote her back, but it was as though he hadn't even gotten her letters, and she knew that she could send letters to Hogwarts, as she had sent the letter to her siblings, telling them of her relationship with Severus, and she'd gotten a reply from them too – though it wasn't exactly what you would call a good one in normal circumstances, but considering the topic of the letter it was better than what she had expected. Ginny wrote Ron had tried to curse Severus when he hadn't been looking, but Severus had of course known what Ron would do, as he wasn't very subtle, so instead of cursing Severus, Ron had gotten a detention and lost 50 house points.  
>Ginny wasn't happy about it either – none of them were. But like Charlotte had written to them, she loved him very much, and would want nothing more than them to just accept that, which they apparently couldn't, but they at least tried to, or rather Ginny tried to.<p>

But one evening, when she still hadn't gotten a reply from Severus, in the middle of September when it was raining outside, and she had a day off the next day, she decided to go to Hogwarts on her own, without the permission from Dumbledore, or anyone else.

She got her travel cloak; put her hood up over her face, and disapparated to hogsmeade.

She didn't lower her hood, until she stood outside of the gates to Hogwarts, where Tonks was currently standing. Tonks looked at her surprised.

"Charlotte – what are you doing here?" She asked with a smile.

"I'm here to visit Severus" Charlotte answered, having no patience for small talk. "Could you let me in?"

Tonks looked uncertain. "Um, I have to prove it's you first so um, what did I do to one of the first years in my 5th year at Hogwarts?"

"You transformed one of the plated armour guards to run after the first year, who got so frightened, he didn't dare look at you, or the guards, for months" Charlotte answered. Tonks gave her a small smile, before swinging her wand, and opening the gate.

"Thanks" Charlotte said to her friend, and walked past her walking with long steps toward the lit up castle.

She met a few students on the way, but she didn't really have eyes for them – she just wanted to see Severus.

She walked towards the dungeons, and to his quarters. Once she was standing in front of his door, she knocked it three times, but nothing happened. She was, however, prepared to sit out in front of his door for the rest of the night if that was what she had to do.

"Charlotte" Came a surprised voice – a surprised voice belonging to Severus. She looked to her left, and saw he was standing there, shocked to see her at Hogwarts. She rose to her feet, and smiled at him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her, walking over to her. He had his hands full of papers and some books.

"I came to see you" She said. "I thought it unfair that you always came to see me, so I thought it would be my turn to see you" She lied easily, though it didn't seem to convince him. But none the less, he opened to door to his quarters, and let her in. he walked over to put down the pile of papers on his desk, before turning to her, arms crossed over his chest.

"Might I ask then, why you have not replied to any of my letters?" He asked her, almost with a hurt voice.

She frowned "But I haven't gotten any of your letters – and why have you not replied to mine? I think I must have written you a dozen letters" she crossed her own arms, as he narrowed his eyes.

"Funny how I have not gotten a single one of them then" He said.

"Curious" Charlotte muttered still frowning. She looked down into the floor, thinking of all the possibilities that might have gone wrong.

"Too curious – wait for me here, I have to go talk with someone" He said to her. He was about to leave, but she grabbed his arm first, walking up to him, and kissed him affectionately. He moved a hand behind her head, and held her close to him for a moment. When he pulled away, she looked up into his eyes.

"I needed that" She said with a smile.

"I would lie, if I said I didn't" he smirked, pulling a lock of her hair behind her ear. "But I have to go now – I will be back, just wait here for me"

She smiled at him, as he let go of her, and disappeared out of the room.

She cradled herself in her arms, as she walked around and studied his quarters – unlike the ones she'd had, there were green and silver colours on the walls, but other than that it was very impersonal, but she didn't expect any less of him.

She walked over and studied all of the books he had on the shelf – they were all so very different, ranging from Potion books, to experimental spells.

She walked over to sit on the sofa that was placed in front of the fireplace – there was a blanket at the end, and it seemed it was here he slept most of the time.

Around a half hour went by, until he came back, looking rather angry. Charlotte laid down the book she had found, and looked up at him, worried.

"Don't ask" He said shutting the door with a smack. Charlotte rose from the sofa, and walked over to him. He laid his hand on the small of her back, pulling her close to him. She looked up at him.

"So, what did you find out?" She asked, putting her arms around him as well.

"Nothing - with all the security, our letters must have gotten lost" he replied. She wasn't fully convinced, but before she could ask him any further, he lifted her chin up with his free hand, and kissed her gently.

She looked up at him, as they pulled back. "How is it working as a defense against dark arts teacher now?" she smirked at him, knowing he'd applied for the job every year since he came to Hogwarts to teach.

"The students are still dunderheads – though I am surprised by the number of students who managed to get an OWL to continue with the subject"

"You sure that doesn't have anything to do with that student group Harry created last year? What was it called – Dumbledore's army" Charlotte offered with a small smile.

"I know it has something to do with that"

"Then you should just be happy – then you won't have to work that hard to teach them everything the other teachers couldn't" She smirked at him.

"I'll have to work hard no matter what the others taught them – they are a bunch of insufferable dunderheads" He replied, and looked down at her with a smirk. "This reminds me of you – insufferable and restless to the bone"

"Oh you're hurting my feelings" She said sarcastically and laughed. She leaned up and planted a kiss on his lips, putting an arm up around his neck. She let out a shriek, as she felt herself being lifted up from the ground. She looked at him with a frightened face.

"Put me down – Severus, put me down!" She demanded him, but he just smirked at her, and carried her into the bedroom. She held her arms tightly around his neck – she was almost sure he couldn't breathe, as she was scared that she would fall down.

As he put her down on his bed, she let out a relieved sigh. He slowly rubbed his neck, looking down at her.

"I told you to put me down" She said with a raised eyebrow. He merely smirked at her, and leaned down over her, planting his hands flatly on the mattress on each side of her. He caught her lips affectionately, as she put her arms around him, lifting one leg up around him, pulling him down on her.

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><p>Disclaimer - I don't own anything from the Potterverse, if i did, Snape wouldn't have died, and he would've lived happily ever after.<p> 


	27. Chapter 27

The next day, she woke up with him sleeping next to her, and she sighed out contently. This had been what she needed in the last week, well week and a half, as she hadn't seen him since the end of august – just knowing he was there next to her, made her smile.

She gently removed his arm, which had been lying over her, and put it down on the bed, as she moved out from under it. She glanced at him with a smile, seeing how serene and blissful he was looking when he was sleeping could easily make her day – of course he would never want to hear her say that, but it was none the less true, it was as though all the worry on his face just disappeared when he was sleeping.

She walked away from the bed, and found a shirt – not caring if it was his or hers and put it on, before walking out into the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror; for the first time in over a week she looked rested. Her hair was one big curly mess, and the shirt she had found only just reached down to the middle of her thighs. But somehow, she didn't care that she was looking like a mess, as long as she was happy – that Severus was happy, she wouldn't care.

When she came back into the bedroom again, Severus was awake and sitting up in the bed. He raised an eyebrow at her, as she walked back to the bed.

"Is that my shirt?" He asked.

She looked down at herself, before looking up at him again with a smirk. "It quite possibly might be"

"Really now – I'm going to want that back sometime soon" he looked at her, no trace of humour in his face. But Charlotte kept smirking.

"And if I want to keep it – then what?"

"Then I will have to take it by force" He smirked and gently took hold of the shirt, and pulled her over to him. She swung a leg over him, and leaned in to kiss him.

As he pulled back, Charlotte breathed a sigh, holding her forehead against his. "I wish it could be like this every day" she breathed, and looked in his eyes; she gave him a small smile. "But since I know it can't this will have to do"

He pulled her in for a last kiss, before she swung her leg back and got up from the bed again. She looked at Severus while she found her jeans and shirt – her clothes was scattered around the bed.

"Breakfast has begun in the great hall" She commented, as she found out what time it was. He merely remained sitting up in the bed, looking at her. She had just put her bra back on, when she stopped and looked at him, she had only gotten around to putting her knickers and bra on. She raised her eyebrows at him. "I'm insinuating that you should go up to get breakfast"

"Yes, I think I got that part" he replied darkly, and made a move to sit on the edge of his side of the bed. Charlotte moved around to him, and smiled down at him, running a hand through his hair. "But I would much rather remain here, compared to spending time in the great hall, listening to my co-workers gossiping, and the voices of hundreds of dunderheads" he added, in an equally dark tone. He put his hands on her waist, planting a kiss on her still bare stomach.

"You really are insatiable, my love" She said to him, smirking at him. He smirked up at her, guiding her over to stand between his legs.

"I was not the one who came running last night"

She raised an eyebrow at him "Because you really objected to my being here – even now, it's like you're repulsed by me" She said sarcastically, as he planted another kiss on her stomach.

"I am deeply repulsed by this pale skin – tell me, have you not gotten around getting any sun this summer?" He asked with a raised brow. She smirked at him, and plated a hand firmly on his chest, pushing him down on the bed. He looked up at her expectantly, smirking self-satisfied. She leaned down over him, straddling him, before leaning down to capture his lips.

She could feel he was fumbling with her bra – it wasn't like him to do that, but she smirked at him, as he finally got it up. He looked up at her.

"I blame you for that – you had to go and get dressed" He said in an accusing voice, as he threw her bra away. He looked back at her, and pulled her down to him again, rolling them around. He made a growling noise in the back of his throat, as she rolled them around again, smirking whilst doing it. Before he had to chance to roll them around, she took hold of his wrists, and pinned them to the bed, smiling wickedly at him.

When they finally got out of the bed, it was because he had a class he had to teach – he just managed to get a shower, before he got dressed and left her in his quarters.

She eventually fell asleep again, but when she woke up, only an hour later, there was food on the bedstand – probably courtesy of Severus, who had told the house elves to bring some food up to her.

She knew it wouldn't be wise to wander around in the hallways – if Ron saw her, he would send a hex at her, or at least ask her why in the world she would think Severus would be a good man for her.

And she considered staying there as well – it would be a nice surprise for Severus, if he came in after a long day and saw her half naked already in the bed.

But she knew she had to get home – it was her only day off in a long time, meaning she had a lot to do.

So she left a note, saying he should come visit her later, if he had time.

She managed to get out of the castle, mostly unseen – McGonagall saw her, and threw her a questioning look, but Charlotte merely smiled at her, and kept on walking.

It was Remus, who let her out of the gates, also looking at her rather suspiciously, but then seemed to be remembering something. She didn't linger though, and only said a short hello to him, before disapparating.

She visited her mum later that day, though she didn't stay for long. She hugged her mum goodbye and disapparated to her flat.

With a wave of her wand, she cleaned the place up – everything either going out to be washed, or books flying to their place in the shelf.

She also went to Diagon alley – completely deserted, which was really strange, as usually the street was packed with people. She guessed people were scared of going out – scared they might be caught by death eaters.

She met Juno, who like Charlotte, had her day off. They walked together for a while, before separating ways – Charlotte went back up to her flat, and Juno had to meet with someone at the hospital – she didn't tell Charlotte who.

Charlotte then continued spending the day reading up on different healing journals – she had missed a few numbers since the last time she had read it, so she had quite a bit of reading up on, especially on the poison department.

Henry and Charlotte had the last couple of weeks at the hospital, tried to make an overall antidote to the cruciatus curse, just in case anything should happen, but they hadn't succeeded yet. Nothing in the journal could help her either – all though a healer from Canada had managed to heal vampirism, which really had been a terror over there for quite some time, it had also been a terror in South America, except they called it the chubacapra, and it fed on the cattle instead of people.

Severus first came around midnight – she had been sleeping for an hour when she heard him walk in through the door. She stirred slightly, opening her eyes, and gazing up in his. He leaned down to kiss her, before putting his arm around her, and they both fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - i don't own anything from the potterverse, J.K Rowling does.<p>

- Thanks for all the reviews! I can't believe that it's gotten 51 reviews already! There's about 10 chapters left from the story, but i'm trying to work on a sequel, i just need to finish plotting for it and all that stuff.


	28. Chapter 28

Severus found the next couple of months more and more difficult to deal with. Not only had he agreed on looking out for Draco, he also knew that Dumbledore's time was running out like the sand of an hour glass. By November he still hadn't found out what to do with Charlotte, and it kept him awake long after Charlotte had fallen asleep, while he was visiting her on her birthday. He simply couldn't fall asleep, knowing he would have to sever all ties he had with her within the next half year.

It didn't make it any better that she always seemed so happy to see him, and though she did some very dubious things sometimes, like walking around in Diagon Alley by herself fully aware that she could be attacked by death eaters, he couldn't bring himself to argue with her – all though that would be the best way to sever his ties with her.

But no matter how much he thought about it, the more it seemed to pain him that he had to do it. It was difficult for him not to think about talking to her, and try to persuade her to change sides, when he had done his deed for Dumbledore. But he couldn't ask her to do that – he couldn't ask her to betray her family, and least of all, he couldn't risk losing her to the dark lord. He couldn't risk losing another woman he loved to that man.

Yes, Lily still owned a great deal of his heart – nothing could ever change that, and he often found himself wondering what would had happened, if they had remained friends and he hadn't begun playing around with the dark arts.

But Charlotte owned the rest of his heart, whatever was left of it. He often wished she wouldn't have fallen in love with him, and found someone younger, more handsome, and more able to protect her than him – she deserved that, someone who could be there for her all the time, and didn't stand with the choices of making her change to the dark side, erase her memory, or send her to a parallel world.

How could he ever choose? He had gotten so used to her, so used to her loving personality; he wondered how he could ever let her go.

But he had to do it – he knew that. Otherwise, the dark lord wouldn't trust him and everything Dumbledore had worked on would fail.

How he wished she would never have fallen in love with him, how he wished he could tell her everything about Dumbledore's plans. But he couldn't.

It was almost the story of his life – that he couldn't.

Around Christmas it became less difficult to deal with luckily – Charlotte would be spending Christmas with her parents, meaning they wouldn't be able to see each other, which sort of made him slightly annoyed with everyone who was slightly cozy with each other in the hallways.

But he had to stay focused – he had to find out what to do. Not to mention keep an eye on Draco, as that seemed to be a fulltime job as well.

He wondered what a simpler life would be like – a life where he could go off, be happy with Charlotte and they could just live their life in peace.

But he had no such luck – he was a spy, a double spy to add to that. He had to stay on the path that might eventually kill him.

He also had to keep Potter at bay – he was getting nosy, and Severus was sure the only reason why he was getting oh so good at potions, was because Potter had gotten hold of _his_ old school book – however that happened.

On Christmas day he found a gift lying at the end of his bed. He found this very suspicious as he usually didn't get gifts.

But the gift was from Charlotte, and a fleeting thought went through him – what did she think of his gift for her?

He was more interested in what she thought of the silver necklace with the bronze eagle pendant, than what she had given him.

But he opened the gift nonetheless, and found it was a silver photo frame, with a moving picture of Charlotte and him. He was standing with his arms around her waist, while she held her one of her hands over his – he could see she was holding her wand in the other hand. The charlotte in the picture would smile out at him, but then move her head up slightly, leaning back as the Severus in the picture leaned down and kissed her on the lips.

He smiled slightly at the picture – he hadn't received a better gift in years.

But it only made the guilt of him having to do something to her in the near future, bigger.

He put it away, not managing to look at it at the moment, before he strode along, cursing at some 1st years who had hung each other up in the Christmas decorations.

When the Christmas holiday was over, he was happy to see Charlotte wearing his necklace – though she scolded him for putting away the picture of them.

He told her she was being silly, and it didn't mean anything that he had put it away. But she kept asking him, if he didn't like the picture, or if there was something wrong with her – he briefly wondered if everyone woman read that much into putting away a silly picture. Well, he didn't really think it was a silly picture, it was just hard to look at it, knowing what he knew.

He eventually quieted her down by pulling her to him, and kissing her gently. He felt peaceful with her. Whenever she would drift off to sleep in his arms, it felt right.

But already by February he knew it would soon come to an end. Dumbledore's time was coming closer, and Severus would have to decide what to do with Charlotte. He knew he couldn't keep putting it off, and looking at her sleep one night, he'd made his decision.

But first he had to tend to Draco – and potter evidently.

He had been walking through the halls, when he heard a scream. He rushed toward one of the girls lavatories, where he found Potter and Draco – Draco was lying on the ground, bleeding profusely – Severus could see what spell had been used right away.

He controlled the bleeding, but sent Potter to get his potions book for him – he wanted that book destroyed.

But when Potter returned, he could tell that he had switched the books – this book was new, and not falling apart, not to mention the name "Ronill Wazlib". But Potter wouldn't admit that of course – the arrogant child.

But he had more important things to tend to – when spring came, so did the pressing matter that he had to tell Charlotte everything – and by everything, he meant everything.

So one night in June, Dumbledore approached him, telling him it was nearly time – and if he had to get anything done, it should be done before the next day.

So Severus pulled her aside before she could get him too heated up – which she easily could, damnable witch.

He sat her down on the bed, finding a pocket pensive. He poured his memories down into the watery substance and watch as they flowed through the waters.  
>"Severus – what – "Charlotte began, but he hushed her.<p>

"Listen to me" He said, gently taking hold of her jaw "What I am about to show you, will change what you may think of me – it is not something that I think might change your view on me, it is something I know will change your view on me" he started. She looked at him confused.

"Severus, I don't understand, what's going on?"

"So before you go in, I want you to promise me one thing" He said, ignoring what she was saying. He wanted her to be very clear of what she was going to see.

"Severus, what is going on?" She demanded. He sighed.

"Just promise me one thing – you will understand everything afterwards" She searched his eyes for something, as he looked into her bright blue eyes. Her eyes were so filled with emotions – uncertainty, a little fright even, but also love and understanding.

She nodded once. "Okay, I'll promise you whatever you need me to promise"

"You have to promise you won't speak of what you're about to see to anyone – not your family, not your friends, not anyone – do you understand?" he took her hands, still looking into those blue eyes of hers, which were becoming glassy.

"Yes" she answered. He nodded at her, and couldn't resist giving her a small kiss, before he pulled both of them down into the pensive.

It was the first time he officially met Lily Evans – he had of course seen her before, but this scene was the first time he met her.

He saw the two girls, playing on the swings, laughing and talking and then the red haired girl jumped off the swing, and glided elegantly through the air, while the blonde girl told her off, saying she wasn't allowed to do that in public, that their mum had told her not to do it.

Severus already knew what would happen, so he turned his head, and watched as Charlotte saw the scene – Severus would come out, tell the two girls that it wasn't unnatural, that she was a witch, and that was completely natural. But petunia scorned him, and he evidently made a tree branch fall down on her. They would then storm off, Petunia in tears, while Lily was uncertain what to think.

Charlotte looked at Severus as the next scene unfolded. "Is that you?" She asked with wide eyes. He closed his eyes and nodded.

"Watch" He told her, but gave her a reassuring squeeze on her hand.

In the next scene, Severus and Lily were talking near the river – Lily wanted to know everything there was about magic, and he answered eagerly her questions, he wanted her to accept him no matter what.

The scene then changed again, and they were sitting outside, looking at each other, talking.

"Are your parents still fighting?"

The younger Severus leaned back, looking up into the sky "Yeah"

"Doesn't your dad like magic?"

"He doesn't like anything much – especially magic" Severus answered. "But we'll soon go to Hogwarts – and then I'll escape from them" he smiled brightly at the girl, sitting up again "Your letter will come soon too – I just know it"

The scene changed, and they watched as Lily told him that she'd received her letter for Hogwarts, being more excited than she had ever been – the younger Severus smiled brightly at her.

Then the scene changed again, and they were talking with Petunia – Severus had just made a snide remark that they knew she had been writing to Dumbledore, asking if he could let her into Hogwarts as well, but Dumbledore couldn't as Petunia wasn't a witch. That was also the first time Petunia called them freaks – Severus silently wondered if this was the day she started hating magic.

The next scene was the scene where Severus was watching from afar, as Lily was saying goodbye to her parents.

The older Severus had almost missed seeing the look on Charlotte's face, as she saw the younger Severus standing with his mother on the platform. She turned to him questioningly.

"Yes, that is my mother" he said to her.

"She looks so sad" Charlotte commented with a sad voice, before averting her eyes to the younger Severus who couldn't wait until he had gotten onto the train.

The scene changed, and the younger Severus was opening a compartment door. Lily was sitting in there, with a sad expression. Severus sat down across from her, looking at her with a cautious smile.

"We're on our way to Hogwarts" He said happily. But she didn't look so happy about it.

"Tuney thinks I'm a freak – she says it's your fault that I've become one" she said sadly.

"She's just jealous of you – you saw the letter"

"Which we opened without her permission" Lily retorted.

The older Severus felt a pang of guilt – perhaps, if he hadn't pushed Lily, maybe her relationship with her sister would have been better.

He hadn't been listening, but as he saw the girl smile, he knew something would soon come – something that changed his view of Hogwarts.

"I hope we'll be in Slytherin" The younger Severus grinned.

And then all hell broke loose – the four other boys who had been sitting in the compartment grinned at each other, and began to tease Severus and Lily – mostly Severus. They wished to be in Gryffindor, and Severus didn't think that was a good thing, so he made fun of the Gryffindor house, saying 'if you'd rather be brawny than brainy' and then James Potter, whom Charlotte hadn't been properly introduced to yet, but looking over at her, she stunned and her eyes were fixed on James Potter. The scene ended by Lily taking Severus by the hand, going out of the compartment.

The next scene was the scene where they were sorted. Charlotte turned to Severus, but he waved at her dismissively, and pointed to the sorting. She dropped her jaw, when Sirius Black was called up, and sorted into the Gryffindor house.

The next one of the first years they knew were Lily – the younger Severus looked at her hopefully, as she smiled down at him. But the hat sorted her into Gryffindor, and as she sat down at the Gryffindor table, disappointment filled his face – his younger face.

"Oh Severus" Charlotte breathed sadly. She turned to look at him, but he merely smiled at her – he was okay with it now, or at least he had dealt with it.

Then the next shock went over her face, when she realized who the boy from the train was – who all of them were. Remus Lupin was sorted into Gryffindor and the same with Peter Pettigrew.

Then it was James Potter, and Charlotte gasped out when she heard his name. She turned to Severus baffled.

"Is that – is he?" She asked, looking for the words.

"Yes, that is Harry Potter's father" Severus spat. She wasn't taken aback by his hatred for the boy – or man. Instead she smiled up at him, and planted a kiss on his cheek – she was a curious witch.

James Potter was sorted into Gryffindor as well, and they waited a little while until it was Severus's turn, all though they both knew he was sorted into Slytherin, it still came as quite the surprise to Charlotte, it seemed, when the younger Lucius Malfoy patted Severus on the back, welcoming him into the house of Slytherin.

The scene changed, and they were now much older – or at least five years older.

They were sitting in their owl exams – everyone was quiet and it was only scribbling on paper that was heard.

He knew Charlotte was searching for him, but her eyes caught sight of James Potter, who had just finished writing.

"That is freaky" She said in a quiet voice. She looked up at him. "It's like a spitting image of Harry – or rather Harry is a spitting image of him"

"I know" He replied darkly. She continued her search, before Severus pointed to a boy who was sitting bent over the paper, almost scraping his nose against it – his hair was greasier than it was on his older self, he was paler, skinnier – he was just out of place. Severus was glad not to be him. He looked down at Charlotte, to look for a reaction, and instead of the reaction he had thought she smiled up at him.

"You don't seem terrified of how I looked" He noted. She shrugged.

"No – every teenager either looks or feels that way. You may not remember me as one, but I was like that – just chubbier and not skinnier" She wrinkled her nose, before turning back to the scene.

The exam had ended, and they followed the younger Severus out into the grounds, where he sat down under the shadow of a tree, looking through a book.

Then the four other boys came out – the marauders.

They at first started playing around, until one of them – Sirius Black, started picking on Severus.

And soon he was hanging upside down, his robes falling over his face, and his grey knickers were showing. Everyone around him laughed, but there was nothing Severus could do – his wand had fallen to the ground.

Seeing the scene made him as angry as he had been back then. He felt Charlotte pull on his arm.

"You can't do anything – though it's horrible" She added with disgust.

Then Lily came, and tried to defend him, but he'd called her a mudblood. He shut his eyes tightly when it happened, not wanting to see Charlotte's reaction. He could hear what was going on – the hurt in Lily's voice.

The scene changed again, and they were standing outside the Gryffindor common room. Charlotte looked up at him.

"You called her a mudblood?" She asked, and he nodded, his eyes still closed. He feared she might find him repulsive by this point, but instead she rubbed her thumb over his hand in a soothing motion.

The scene that was shown before them was the scene where he tried to apologize to her, saying he didn't mean it – but lily wouldn't listen to him, and had officially ended their friendship.

The next scene was short, but a slightly older, a more recognizable Severus for Charlotte at least, was sitting on a chair in a grey kitchen, reading a paper. It was a small notice in the paper, but it made him angry. "Wedding of James Potter and Lily Evans, September 30th in the church of Godric's hollow"

The younger Severus crumbled the paper together, and set it on fire, shaking with anger.

Charlotte looked up at him – he could imagine she had already guessed why he had done that.

The scene changed, and they were standing on top of a hill, the wind was making his hair fly everywhere around him – he looked more pale, and skinny than he had when he was a teenager.

Then Dumbledore came, and everything almost became serene. Severus had come there to ask one favor – that he protected Lily, and after some persuasion, protected her family as well.

Charlotte looked up at him, a tear escaping her eye. "You loved her" She breathed out.

"Yes" he answered simply. The scene had almost frozen – he wasn't ready for them to move to another scene just yet.

"Do you still love her?" She asked him, a sob escaping her as she had tried to hold it down.

"In a way I will always love her" he said earnestly. She breathed through a sob. He took her other hand, and looked into those teary blue eyes of hers. "But not as much as I used to – because then you came into my life, and made it all go up-side down" he wiped away a tear that had escaped her eye. She breathed a shaky laugh.

He felt them being pulled out – possibly because they had stayed at the scene too long. They were sitting on his bed again; he was still holding her hand.

"Why are you showing me all this?" She asked him with a casual wave toward the pensive.

"I want you to know the truth – about me, and about everything. That is also why you cannot tell anyone. Potter will become unbearable if he knew" he smirked.

"I think it's sweet – not that she didn't choose you, or that she married your arch nemesis, but that you still love her after all these years" Charlotte said, and another tear escaped her eye. He wiped it away, and instead leaned over to her, and kissed her – telling her, that she was all he had on his mind now, without saying a word.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I am not J.K Rowling- Therefore i do not own the Potterverse.<p>

- Sorry for not updating in a while, been busy with both Real life and this new RP game on facebook i'm a part of - If you're interested it's called Unity and Magic, and has some really awesome people in it :)  
>- Second, i know the 6th year is rushed and kinda in Snape's point of view, but when writing this, I felt like this was the right course for my story. The chapter after this one, will be like a part 2, as you can clearly see the memories aren't over yet.<br>I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, faved, and put on Alert list. Words can express how happy i am that you /actually/ like my story.


	29. Chapter 29

In the next scene they were in Dumbledore's office. In the scene, Severus had just been told of Lily's death – the older Severus still felt a pang of guilt go through him, as Dumbledore had said the words. It was here he sealed his destiny, and promised to look over Potter – for Lily's sake.

"I thought… you were going… to keep… her safe" the slightly younger Severus said. He was slumped over in a chair, with Dumbledore standing over him. This time it was charlotte's turn to tighten the grip on his hand.  
>"The potter's put their faith into the wrong person" Dumbledore said with a calm voice. "Rather like yourself Severus – didn't you hope Voldemort would spare her?"<p>

His breathing became shallow.

"Her boy survives"

The younger Severus made an involuntary move with his head, as though there was a fly on him.

"Her son lives. He has her eyes. Precisely her eyes. You remember the size and shape of Lily Evans's eyes don't you?"

"DON'T!" He billowed "Gone… Dead"

"Is that remorse, Severus?"

"I wish… I wish _I_ were dead"

"And what use would that be to anyone?" Dumbledore said coldly "If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear"

The younger Severus seemed to take some time to get the message through, as though a haze of pain had clouded his mind.

"What – what do you mean?"

"You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily's son"

"He does not need protection. The dark lord is gone – "

"- the dark lord will return, and Harry Potter will be in terrible danger when he does"

There was a long pause, and slowly Severus regained control of himself, mastered his own breathing. At last he said "Very well. Very well. But never – never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear… especially Potter's son.. I want your word!"

"My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you?" Dumbledore sighed, looking down into Severus's ferocious, anguished face. "If you insist"

The scene changed and it was the sorting Ceremony.

The slightly younger Severus was sitting behind the teachers table, watching as Potter walked up towards the chair, placing the hat on his head.

He remembered the hatred that filled his body, as he saw Lily's eyes on Potter's face – James Potter's face.

He tightened the grip around her hand, as the hat yelled out 'Gryffindor' precisely as it had done with the boy's parents.

Again, Charlotte made a soothing motion with her thumb, as the scene changed, and the slightly younger Severus was pacing in Dumbledore's office, complaining over Potter Junior – that he was just like his father.

"– Mediocre, arrogant as his father, a determined rule-breaker, delighted to find himself famous, attention-seeking and impertinent – "

"You see what you expect to see, Severus" Dumbledore said without raising his eyes from a copy of transfiguration today. "Other teachers report that the boy is modest, likeable, and reasonably talented. Personally, I find him an engaging child" Dumbledore turned a page without looking up.

"Keep an eye on Quirrell, won't you?"

The scene changed, and next they were at the Yule ball. Severus was talking with Dumbledore, discussing the burning of both Severus's dark mark and Karkaroff's dark mark.

He glanced down at Charlotte who seemed as though she couldn't tear her eyes away from the image, caught up in what was going on.

A pair of students passed them, giggling and blushing. The younger Severus scolded them, and kept his eyes on the veela. This was from something Charlotte could remember as well, which meant another scene she might remember came up shortly.

Dumbledore walked away, leaving the younger Severus looking stricken – the older Severus knew of course, what had just happened. The old coot had just insinuated that Severus should have been in Gryffindor.

The scene changed, and the two of them were standing in the great hall. Severus knew what was coming up, and so did Charlotte it seemed. But she didn't avert her eyes.

The slightly younger Severus walked up to the slightly younger Charlotte, and asked her to dance.

Severus glanced down at her, and saw she was smiling at the scene.

None of them said anything, as they watched the scene develop.

When they stopped dancing, and the slightly younger Severus kissed her hand, Severus knew where the younger Severus would be going.

He shortly glanced at the younger Charlotte, seeing she was sighing, still standing there looking after the younger Severus.

"Come" He said to her, and dragged her after the younger Severus, until they were standing in his quarters – since they weren't a part of the memory, they walked straight through the door, just in time for them to see the slightly younger Severus kick his chair.

Charlotte looked up at him; a small smirk was playing around her lips. "So a year would go by, before you admitted anything to yourself?" She asked quietly, as the younger Severus was pacing.

"Yes – all though at this time I was in denial" he replied, and the scene changed.

They were standing in his former class room, and the younger Charlotte had him backed up against the desk. She crushed her lips against his, and the slightly older Severus remembered what it was like – he also knew when the turning point happened, which was only a moment later, when the younger Severus relaxed against her, and took a hand up into her hair, twirling her curls while kissing her back passionately.

"Oh Merlin – I forced you to kiss me?" The slightly older Charlotte asked regretfully and looked up at him.

"Yes, you were quite drunk – I have still not forgiven you for that" He smirked at her.

Charlotte wrinkled her nose, as she turned back to the scene.

The younger Charlotte had just fallen asleep against his chest. He sighed, and picked her up bridal style.

"So that's what you meant when you said twice – sneaky" She commented, as the younger him carried her out. They followed him into her old quarters, where he laid her down on the bed.

The slightly younger Charlotte moved a little in her sleep, and a smile formed on her lips. "Severus" She whispered.

The younger Severus appeared to be battling an inner battle, before he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

She smiled in her sleep, as he left her quarters, and the scene changed.

The scene was frozen, as though on pause. They were in Dumbledore's office again, and Severus was pacing in front of him.

Charlotte turned to him. "Why didn't you say anything to me?" She asked, her eyes searching his.

"I was in denial – you know of my love for Lily now" She nodded "And I never thought I would love anyone again, but then you came along and I did not know how to deal with it"

"So I messed up your vision of love?" She asked with a small smirk.

"Yes – I have told that you are insufferable before" he smirked back at her, and with a wave of his hand, the scene unfolded.

"Severus, my boy, you seem troubled" Dumbledore said, sitting behind his desk.

"_Seem_ troubled, headmaster" he sneered at him. "With everything that is going on – it is going to be _exactly_ like the last time"

"Yes it does seem that way – perhaps even worse, if Voldemort get to the prophecy" Dumbledore added, folding his hands on the desk. "I am lucky; to have such devoted allies as Arthur Weasley and his family, I'm touched by the sacrifice"

"And what am I then? A mere spectator?" He asked sarcastically.

"Nothing the like, my boy – I value you highly, you should know that by now" Dumbledore looked at the younger wizard with a smile.

The slightly younger Severus looked slightly shocked, but regained himself.

"Now speaking of Arthur Weasley" Dumbledore started "I am sure you still remember his daughter, Charlotte"

"Of course I do, headmaster" he said coldly "She is in the order, after all" he voice was deadly, and dark.

"There's no need for that tone, my boy – I am not blind after all, I have seen the way you look at her"

Dumbledore looked amused. The slightly younger Severus stopped up in front of him, and leaned over his desk. "It seems like a shame to me, that you are denying that you are clearly infatuated with her"

"I am not infatuated with that witch"

"Then you wouldn't care that she is right now walking home, on the edge from her father's near death – my sources have told me, she was in a downright mess" Dumbledore said slowly, looking at him.

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked in a slightly more calm tone.

"Because she is going to need someone to lean on – and since she is quite as stubborn as you, she won't be asking for it" Dumbledore said.

"And why would you think that I care?" He voice was darker than before, and he had his eyes narrowed.

"Because love, my boy, is what makes us different than the death eaters – your love for Lily made you change sides, after all"

"And that will never change!" He bellowed.

"No it will not – but you should not repress your feelings, for another certain red head – There's no point arguing the matter, Severus, I know love when I see it" His eyes were twinkling.

"Fine – what if I am in love with her then? It doesn't change anything!"

"It changes everything, my boy – you both need each other"

"I don't need anyone" He replied through gritted teeth. The older Severus remembered the feeling, how he wanted to suppress it.

"Quite the contrary my boy – you are as much in need of someone to lean on, as she is now – was it not her, you came to when you had been tortured by Voldemort?"  
>"Stop saying that name" He hissed "And how does that matter – she's a healer"<p>

"Yes, just like Poppy whom you could have called with a patronus – there's a reason for everything, and your path has crossed with hers for a reason"

"And what might that reason be?" He sneered.

"I am not sure yet – but I am sure we will find out in the future. Go to her; follow the temptress that is the adventure of love"

"Headmaster –"

"No my boy, this is something I am sure you need to do – so go to her now. She will be home in a matter of minutes" Dumbledore said. Finally the slightly younger Severus nodded, and walked out of the door.

Charlotte turned to him, the scene had frozen again.

"So I have Dumbledore to thank for everything?" She asked with a smirk.

"Depends on how you look at it" he replied darkly. With a wave of his hand the scene changed, but they were still in Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore was sitting with his hand over the chair, unconscious. The younger Severus was muttering incantations and spells over Dumbledore's withered hand. A ring was lying on the desk, shattered.

When Severus stepped back, Dumbledore awoke with a start.

This was the part where he scolded Dumbledore for putting on that ring – telling him he only had a year left to live.

Charlotte was again caught up in the scene, looking on flabbergasted.

The scene soon changed, and they were still in the office. This was the scene where Dumbledore told him what must be done – that if Draco failed his mission, the dark lord would expect Severus to kill off Dumbledore.

He had refused, but Dumbledore reminded him of his promise – that he would do anything for Lily, and to protect her son.

Severus had feared for when this scene would come – for it was also the scene where Dumbledore had told him he needed to sever his ties with Charlotte.

Severus didn't look at the scene – instead he was looking at how Charlotte reacted. A tear escaped her eye when Dumbledore told him what must be done, when he told him of his options.

"You can a, erase her memory and send her to live in America, or b, make her change sides. The choice is yours"

"I can't possibly make that choice! I can't be the ruler of her life!"

"You have a year, my boy – I'm sure you will do the right thing"

The scene froze again. Charlotte seemed shocked or stunned more like it.

"Now you know why I have been acting – off" He said. She slowly turned around, tears in her eyes.

"Severus, this is more than acting off – the man told you to kill him" she said with a shaky voice. "He betrayed your trust to him – your trust to Lily" another tear fell down from her eye. He merely squeezed her hand. He wasn't finished showing her his memories.

The scene unfroze and changed. They were still in the office, and Severus saw it was the scene where Dumbledore told him what happened on the night when Lily died – when the curse had rebounded, and a piece of Voldemort's soul had been trapped inside Potter.

"So the boy must die?"

"And it must be by Voldemort's hand alone – that is essential"

After a long silence, Severus spoke again. "I thought that after all these years, we were protecting him for her – for Lily"

Dumbledore would then explain why they had been doing that. Severus closed his eyes – he knew what would happen.

"But this is touching" Dumbledore said seriously, after Severus had realized they had raised Potter like a pig for slaughter "After all this time, have you grown to care for him?"

"_Him?" _He said, and held out his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" A silver light burst from his wand, and a white doe jumped out, flowing through the office.

"After all this time?" Dumbledore said touched.

"Always" Severus answered, as the doe jumped out of the window.

"But what about Charlotte?" Dumbledore asked, still touched by what he had just seen. Severus pointed his wand again.

"Expecto Patronum!" He said, but instead of a silver doe, a silver wolf jumped out from his wand – Charlotte's silver wolf. The wolf disappeared the same way as the doe had. Severus, from the memory, looked at the older wizard.

"Severus – that is quite extraordinary. I had no idea that you loved her that much"

"No, you didn't" He hissed.

They were sitting on the bed in his quarters again – the memories had ended. Another tear fell from her eye, and she was looking down at her hands.

"Are you going to do it now?" She asked, her voice was sad and shaky.

"Going to do what?" He asked.

"Whatever it is you have chosen to do with me – what Dumbledore suggested" She asked, still not looking up. A tear from her eye fell down and hit Severus's hand.

"No – I'll make sure we have time, before I do it"

A sob escaped her lips. "Why not – why not just get it over with?" she tried not to sound hurt, but he could tell, that she was hurt.

"Because I want you to know something" Severus said. He lifted a hand up and gently lifted her head up to look at him. Her eyes were teary, glittering with tears.

"I thought you'd shown me everything"

"I have – but I have not told you everything" he wiped away another tear from her eye "I will always love you – no matter what happens. You saw my patronus – it is the one that has become more common"

Charlotte smiled a sad smile at him, and held her own hand up to cup his cheek. "When are you planning on doing it?"

"Tomorrow – it all happens tomorrow, according to Dumbledore at least"

A sob escaped her lips again, as she drew in a breath "He's usually right" she said, and another tear escaped her eyes. "Everyone will hate you"

"Yes – but that is what I need them to do. I have to convince the dark lord that I am on his side"

"I am willing to change sides for you" She said after a short silence. "So we can be together"

"Charlotte – your family "

"Will hate me, yes – but once the war is over, I can explain to them why I did it"

"We don't know when the war is over" Severus replied with a sigh.

"I don't care – I want to have a family with you" she looked down, the hand she had on his cheek fell down as well, and another tear escaped her eye "I don't want to lose you"

"You won't lose me" he said, making her look up at him again.

"Yes I will" she tried to stifle a sob, and smiled a sad smile. "You showed me everything, remember – your choices"

"Yes, but no matter what happens, I will always love you – even if you might not love me"

"But I will – why do you think I'm willing to change sides?"

He didn't answer her – he had to do what he had decided to do. But not now – right now he just wanted to be with her.

He put the pensive away, and pulled her close to him, kissing her deeply and passionately. She didn't resist him, instead she pushed him down on the bed, straddling him and kissing him as though it was the last time she had the change to do it. It probably was.

They were more passionate with each other than they had been before – Charlotte possibly because she knew what Severus had to do, that he had to kill Dumbledore, but Severus knew it was because he couldn't let her change sides, he couldn't let her make that sacrifice.

When they stood in the door, the next morning, and Charlotte kissed him goodbye, trying to stall. He pointed his wand at her, muttering several forget-me spells. He made her think he hadn't been in her life at all the past two years, that she had been his apprentice, but she hadn't fallen in love with him, that his face was changed with another man's face, his body changed with another man's body – that he didn't mean anything to her.

He knew it had worked, when he saw her eyes momentarily become white, before turning back to normal. The effect would first kick in when she returned to her flat – when she was away from him.

She smiled up at him, unnoticed of what he had just done to her. He gave her a last kiss, before she left.

He knew it had been the right time he had done it, when he later stood before Dumbledore, and aimed his wand at him. He then killed Dumbledore, watching as his mentor, and friend fell down from the tower.

He would have to erase a lot more memories before he escaped – he had to create a diversion.

He made himself invisible, before copying himself, a version of him that wasn't invisible. The copy took a run for it, and all he had to do now was wait until her entire family, and hopefully some of the order members as well were together.

When they were all gathered in the hospital wing – her family, the order members who knew about them, everyone who could possibly remind her of him, he hid behind a door, and pointed his wand to the room. He muttered the same incantation as he had done to Charlotte earlier – she was sitting on the bed, with an arm around her sister. Fenrir had, apparently, bitten Charlotte's brother.

Like he had done with Charlotte he erased any memory that they may have of them together and instead replaced it with the image of the same man he had put into Charlotte's mind instead.

He watched as their eyes momentarily went white, but unlike Charlotte, the spell worked on them right away.

They all looked confused for a moment, before continuing their arguments.

Severus cast another invisibility spell on himself again, and slipped unnoticed through the hospital wing, and out of the castle.

He had done what he had to do.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own the potterverse, J.K Rowling does.<br>- What do you think? :)


	30. Chapter 30

"Charlotte, dear, do you want a cup of tea?" Her mum asked her, as Charlotte was sitting on the sofa in the burrow. She smiled up at her mum.  
>"No – I do want the others to come home though, they should have been here by now" She said, worried that something might have happened to them. Ever since Dumbledore's death she had been edgy – if Dumbledore was dead, who was going to save them? He was the only one with the matching power of Voldemorts.<p>

Her mum sighed, and sat down next to her. "Yes" she breathed out worried as well.

In that moment they heard a crash out in the back yard. Charlotte was up on her feet immediately, gripping her wand tightly. She ran out into the backyard, and found Harry and Hagrid.

"Oh Harry" Charlotte breathed. He was disheveled, and they shouldn't have been the first ones back. Harry swayed a little.

"You are the real Harry right?" Her mum asked, brushing past her.

"What do you mean – aren't there anyone else back yet?" Harry asked. Charlotte looked at him gravely. She walked over to hagrid, and tried to help him up – but he was quite heavy.

Ginny explained to Harry that they were the first ones back – and that Tonks and Ron should have been back before them.

They walked back into the house, but only a moment later there was another crash.

Charlotte stood up, just in time to see Harry and Remus carry George past her, and into the house. George was bleeding profusely.

Charlotte and her mum were at his side instantly. Her mum looked at her.

"We can't make it grow back – it's been done with dark magic" She said. Her mum nodded, but began to cast healing spells so the bleeding would stop. Charlotte looked up at Remus, who had just asked harry what creature was in his office the first time Harry came to see him.

"A – A Grindylow in a tank, wasn't it?"

"Someone betrayed us – they knew we were moving harry tonight" Remus said, looking around at them.

"Remus, who did this?" Charlotte asked motioning to George.

"Snape – his own special creation" Remus answered. Charlotte could feel the anger boil in her.

"First Dumbledore, and now he's trying to kill George" She muttered under her breath. She couldn't believe that he would betray Dumbledore – Dumbledore had trusted him. They all had.

"He thought George was Harry – doesn't make it any better though" Remus said, with as much spite in his voice as Charlotte had.

Charlotte turned back to George and tried to help her mum as much as possible.

Bill and Fleur were the last to return, and while George had awoken again, he still had a hole in his head.

Bill announced that Mad-eye was dead, and that Mundungus had fled the scene when Voldemort had appeared.

They all raised a glass of firewhiskey in honour of mad-eye, tending to each other, worrying what the future had in store for them now.

But as Charlotte lay in her old room later, she wouldn't worry about that – they had a wedding that needed to be perfect, they could worry about their future later. She slowly drifted off the sleep, knowing the coming days would be better than the past year had been.

_She was standing at platform 9 and three quarters, pushing a trolley over toward the train. She saw Bill and Fleur in the distance, and with a smile on her face, she walked over to them. _

"_Are you excited?" She asked Bill, and he grinned at her. _

"_Very – Victoire's been bugging us all week" Fleur said with a bright smile. "What about Lila – she holding up?" _

"_Yeah – she's been fussy about it, but she's realized she can't go to Hogwarts before she's 11" Charlotte smiled at them. _

"_I bet the twins are excited about it – speaking of the devils" Bill grinned. Charlotte turned around, and saw three children – two girls and a boy, walking towards them already changed into their robes. The boy had shoulder length black curly hair and dark brown eyes, he was taller than the two girls, and was grinning from ear to ear. He was around the same size as Ron had been when Ron had started at Hogwarts. One of the girls had straight black hair, going just past her shoulders and with the same brown eyes as the boy. Her skin was pale like the boys, but it was a healthy pale. The other girl had long silvery hair, just like fleurs, but she had Bill's eyes. _

"_Hi Aunt Charlotte" The girl with silvery hair said, and Charlotte held her arms out for a hug. The girl hugged her tightly, before pulling back and smiling at her. _

"_Victoire – you're growing way too fast" Charlotte said to her, and patted her on the back. She turned to the two twins, who were smiling brightly at her. She raised an eyebrow at them. _

"_Hey mum – you going to hug us like that too?" The boy grinned._

"_Castiel, Cassandra – where is your sister and your brother?" Charlotte asked them, but before they could answer, a red haired boy with short cut hair and blue eyes- who appeared to be entering his 2__nd__ year at Hogwarts, along with a small red curly haired girl who also had blue eyes, walked past them and over to charlotte. The girl's eyes were watery. _

"_Mum, she won't stop following me onto the train" The boy said_

"_I want to go to Hogwarts too" She sniffed. _

"_Lila, you know you can't go – there's three years till you turn 11" Castiel said "But we'll send you something from Hogwarts – like a toilet seat" The little girl gave a small laugh. Charlotte turned around to Bill. _

"_They're just like Fred and George were" He commented. Charlotte smiled at him, and looked down at her little girl. She clutched her to Charlotte, not knowing if she should be sad, or happy that the twins would send her something. _

"_You four better get onto the train – teddy has been looking for you" Bill said, and the three children nodded. Charlotte looked at the four children. _

"_Alaric" she said, and the eldest boy turned to her "Keep an eye on your brother and sister – try to keep them out of trouble" he nodded and smiled up at her. _

_As Charlotte hugged her three eldest children goodbye, a tear of joy fell from her cheek. She looked at fleur, and saw the same thing happened to her. Two children walked over to Bill and Fleur, a blonde haired boy, and a red haired girl. They all waved goodbye, as the four children boarded the train. _

Charlotte woke up from the dream with a start. She'd had this dream for quite some time now, and didn't know if it was a premonition, or just a stupid dream that didn't mean a thing – she'd failed divination, so she was more inclined to believe the latter, though it was so very real. She almost wanted to find out who the father of her dream children were – as the part with Bill and Fleur was quite obvious, just not why they had called they're daughter Victoire, or why in the world she would name her only son Castiel.

The sun had come up over the hills, and the room was bathed in morning light. She knew she couldn't fall back to sleep again – the dream always haunted her, and left her restless. So instead she got up from the bed, and began to get dressed. She fleetingly looked at the dress she would be wearing for the wedding – a green silk dress. She didn't know why she had chosen a green one, but it just sort of called to her.

Fleur had said it looked good on her – and she should wear something like that more often, before she started to rant about the silken robes they use at Beauxbatons, and how unstylish they are at Hogwarts.

She was careful not to wake up Hermione, as Hermione was sharing the room with her – there could only be so many people in a house, before walking downstairs.

Her mum and dad were already up, along with Bill and Fleur. They were sitting around the table, quietly eating breakfast. They hadn't even noticed that Charlotte had come down, until she sat down at the table. Bill looked up at her with a smile – she still couldn't get use to all the scars on his face, even though it had been over a month now.

"Good morning" She said to her parents. Her mum smiled at her, and shuffled some food onto her plate.

"Did you sleep well?" Her dad asked her, as he was reading the paper.

"Did you have that dream again?" Bill asked her, as she grimaced.

"Yeah – though no such luck at finding out whom the father is, he must really be a jackass for not following his own children off to Hogwarts"

Bill chuckled. "Or maybe he's just a busy man"

"Or maybe the dream is just a dream – remember I failed my divination owls with a big fat 'T'?"

"Yeah you did – I still find that funny" Bill laughed, and Charlotte threw him a scornful look.

The rest of the family joined shortly after – Charlie had arrived during the night, and stayed in bills old room, along with Bill, while Fleur joined rooms with Ginny. The table soon got incredibly crowded, and as she still had some things to do at the hospital – she'd wanted to take a sabbatical, but given the circumstances, she'd have to retain a low profile, meaning she had to work like she normally did.

She was still working in the lab, and actually quite liked it down there – not as many loud people, more space, she could decide what she wanted to do, and if she felt like it, she could always go up and take a look at a few patients.

She wasn't at the hospital for long – there weren't many patients, as even they were too frightened to go out.

Russell was the only one in the lab working, besides her – Juno had taken a leave and gone to America with her parents, as her dad was a muggleborn, and they knew he would be targeted. Sirius had been sorry about that, but knew she would come back to him eventually – there was something about that, that Charlotte found incredibly sweet.

Russell was still working on his memory potions, and had actually made some sort of progress – he had found a potion that could bring back certain things, which had been forgotten. They had tried applying the potion to the Longbottoms, but as long as they didn't have the family's consent, they couldn't – and the family wasn't keen on coming out, just like the rest of the wizard families.

So instead they had to leave the potion be, until they could get a consent – and in the meantime, he tried working on a potion that could bring back full memory.

When she came home everyone was either busy decorating or cleaning the whole place – the wedding would be in a few days, and they needed the whole place squeaky clean – or that's what their mum said.

During the whole thing, Charlotte kept having a feeling that she had forgotten about something.

"I'm telling you, I think I've forgotten about something" She said, peeling a banana as she and bill were sitting on top of a hill, like they did when they were younger. "But it mustn't be anything important – I would have remembered if it was, right?" she looked at him questioning.

"Why're you asking me?" he laughed

"Because you know me better than most people" She grinned, and leaned back letting the sun rays hit her face. "You know mum is going to scoff us for not being at home right now" She stated with a grin.

"Yes I do – but I really don't need to be in a house with crazy witches" he grinned back.

"And I'm not a crazy witch?"

"Well, I'm used to you – I'm not used to mum being in a cleaning frenzy because she want to impress my in-laws" he laughed. "Don't tell anyone I said that"

"No worries – with all the things I've made you keep secret for me over the years" She smirked and closed her eyes.

"Ah yes, how could I forget? You once hid some guy in your room, when mum came to wake you up one summer"

"Aah, yes – good old James, I wonder what became of him" She mused.

They returned to the burrow 30 minutes later, having relaxed enough; they helped their mum clean the house, and helped Ron, Harry and Hermione to be alone, away from their mum who had been bugging them about what Dumbledore had sent them out to do.

Charlotte was curious too – she had tried asking them, but like the others she had no such luck. She didn't ask them again, knowing, if she couldn't pull the answer out of them the first time, she couldn't do it the second time around either – She just hoped they knew what they were doing, or rather Dumbledore knew what he had been doing.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own anything from the Potterverse.<br>- Sorry if this might seemed rushed, school's taking up a bit of my time :)  
>- Thanks for all the reviews!<p> 


	31. Chapter 31

On the day of the wedding, Charlotte stood in her old bedroom, looking at herself in the mirror. She had put her hair up; with just a few curls hanging lose around her face. She actually didn't know why she had done her hair like that – she usually didn't like having her hair up.

Maybe she was just changing – after all, she usually didn't wear green silk dresses either, with a matching pair of silver shoes.

She put on a necklace she'd found in her bag, and put it around her neck. Her look was complete.

When she walked downstairs, Charlie and Bill were talking in the kitchen. She smiled at them, as they saw her.

"Wow Charlotte – you look amazing" Charlie said. "Too bad you don't have a date"

"Actually she does" Sirius said, coming in from the living room. "As a friend – she's not exactly my type" He smiled at her, before looking her over with a frown.

He turned to Bill and Charlie "is there something wrong with this picture, or is it just me?" he asked them.

Charlotte let out a small huff – there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. "I am standing right here" She said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Well" Bill said, scrutinizing her "I don't see it, Sirius" he finally said after a few seconds.

"Yeah, me neither" Charlie said.

"Oh come on – green and silver, what does that remind you of?" Sirius said. When they didn't answer he raised his eye brows at them. "Slytherin colours, it's the Slytherin colours" he said exasperated.

"What?" Charlotte said "No, no, no, no – "she stopped her rant of 'no's'. She bit her under lip "It is isn't it?"

Charlie laughed at her "How did you not see that?"

She reached out and slapped him on the arm "I don't think of house colours when I chose what I wear!"

Sirius raised another eyebrow at her. "Really – then please explain that necklace of yours"

She conjured a mirror, and looked at the necklace in the reflection. Astonished, she put her hand up, and touched the bronze eagle lightly. "I don't even know where I have this from" She said speechless.

"You sure it wasn't a gift?" Bill said with creased eyebrows.

"I don't know, it might have been – it is kind of pretty though" She smiled, and made the mirror vanish. She looked at Sirius who looked like one who disagreed.

"Oh you stop that" She said, and took his arm, and pulled them out into the back yard.

They were shown to their seats by Fred and George – who also noticed the colours she was wearing, and asked her if she had gone insane. Ginny then tried to reassure her that she looked fine, before going back inside.

"You do look good" Sirius informed her "Just wish you would have chosen some other colours like – red, or orange. Perhaps even blue or bronze – even yellow and black would have been acceptable"

"And you would look good with a black eye" Charlotte sneered at him "But I'm not saying that all the time, am I?"

"Wow Charlotte – take it down a notch" Sirius leaned back as though he had been blasted away by the wind "Why're you so pissy, it's your brother's wedding day – be happy" Sirius chided.

She was astounded that she had sounded so pissy. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me" She said earnestly. Sirius threw her a suspicious glance.

"You're not getting sick, are you?" He lifted his hand up to touch her forehead. "You're not warm – might just be that time of month then" he muttered the last part, thinking she hadn't heard him. But she had heard him.

"Keep that up, and you will see pissy" She warned him. He leaned back, holding his hands up defeated, but it didn't keep him from making a remark.

"You know, those colours almost fit you – at least if you keep being a pissy witch" Sirius said with a grin. She smacked him on the arm, regretting ever saying yes to go to the wedding with him. She did feel like she should be there with someone, but she didn't know who that someone was – perhaps it was just seeing her big brother getting married.

When all the guests were seated, and Bill and Charlie was standing at the end of the aisle, the music started, and everyone averted their heads, to watch Fleur walk in, arm in arm with her father. She looked gorgeous, and instead of making everyone around her appear less attractive, it was as though a golden light lay over all of the guests, making everyone glow.

The ceremony was a beautiful thing, and after they had said their "I do's" the tent transformed into a dining and dancing area.

After the newlywed couple had danced, Sirius took Charlotte's hand, and though she protested wildly, he started dancing with her.

It was so silly – he'd been like a brother to her the past two years, so they both fooled around with it, none of them were taking it seriously.

Charlie eventually cut in, but she still couldn't take it seriously – every time she danced with someone, it felt as though she had tried dancing with someone who was much more careful and gentle with her – even dancing with Remus didn't feel like that, and if anyone was, then he was very gentle and careful.

So she eventually sat down, and started talking with the other guests at the wedding.

She'd started a conversation with a lovely young girl named Luna – she was apparently a friend of Ron and Ginny's and didn't live far from the burrow. Her father was there as well, though he seemed much more interested in the decorations, and how they should have been done.

It was just until a French cousin of Fleur's – from her father's side, came over and asked her to dance. She accepted, as she really needed to dance with someone who wasn't her family – or was he her family now?

It didn't last long though, as a silver lynx burst through the tent, informing them that the minister had been killed, and the death eaters were coming.

Within seconds, chaos broke out, and while Charlotte tried to remain calm, the other guests shrieked, and fled the tent. She just saw Ron, Harry and Hermione disapparate, before she pulled out her wand, and sent a spell flying at one of the death eaters.

The death eater flew through the tent, as though the death eater hadn't been prepared for the spell.

Everyone fought, but it was in the end, those who were living at the burrow, who had to stand down.

Charlotte had been caught by one of the death eaters, and had a wand at her throat.

"Where is Potter?" She could easily recognize his voice, as Lucius Malfoy. She tried to get free, but couldn't. He had her tightly held against him, his wand pointed to her throat.

"I don't know" She answered with a strained voice.

"See I don't think you're telling the truth" he whispered into her ear. He looked over at her family. "Tell me where Potter is, or she dies"

"We don't know where he is – feel free to use veritaserum on us" Fred said, still holding his own wand up.

Another death eater joined them. "We have found him on tottenham court – he used his name there" he whispered to Malfoy.

"What are you waiting for then – Go get him!" He bellowed at the death eater. The death eater disappeared again, but Malfoy didn't loosen his grip on her.

"Why are you still holding me – your buddy just said they found him!" She hissed at him. "I have done nothing wrong, so you have no right – "

"I have all the rights to do this – if I wanted to, I could take you with me and use you as I wished" Malfoy said with a malicious voice.

"That would be enough – the dark lord will be expecting us" a familiar voice said, but Charlotte couldn't place it – the death eater who had spoken was hidden behind a mask.

"But it would be so much fun – "

"I said let her go" The death eater walked over in front of him "You do not want to make the Dark lord angry, _again_, now do you?" Malfoy let go of her, and pushed her over to her dad. Charlotte narrowed her eyes at the death eaters.

"Where is your lovely son, Ronald?" One of the death eaters asked.

"He's ill – with spattergroit, you're welcome to come and see for yourself" George said in a deadly tone. The death eater had barely gotten up the stair, before he changed his mind, and left the burrow along with the other death eaters, with the warning they would be watching them.

Charlotte sighed as they walked in to sit in the living room – this should have been a joyous occasion, well it was to begin with, but ending a wedding with being held tightly against someone you hated as much as dragon pox, well that part's just never fun.

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><p>Disclaimer - i don't own anything from the Potterverse.<br>Really sorry for the wait, life is "normal" again, what with school and everything :) Hope you like this!


	32. Chapter 32

She returned to her own flat the next day, knowing that if she didn't keep up her appearance of acting as though nothing was going on, the death eaters would come to get her, and take her to Voldemort.

At the hospital, she was followed around by death eaters almost every day –it was getting tiring after a month had gone by with this, that she even greeted them when they were waiting for her at the entrance.

Luckily, even if it was a small comfort, she was pureblood and therefore not sent into the ministry for questioning of her blood – even though she was treated like a muggle born, in their eyes she was as good as.

It didn't stop her from treating patients though – if there was anything in this world she still had freedom to do it was treating patients.

Since the ministry had no control over the hospital, they still had free reigns, but because of the death eater threat, nobody wanted to cross them.

Charlotte had wanted to stay at the burrow, but she knew she couldn't – she'd have to act as normal as she could, and since she didn't normally live at the burrow, she couldn't stay there.

She hadn't heard from Sirius, Remus, or Tonks since the wedding, but hoped that Sirius had apparated to Juno – he would be safe with her.

Since she was cut off from her family, her friends – her guilty pleasures like muggle ice cream, she only had the hospital left, so she made sure that she spent most of her day there, taking care of people, or creating potions – though that mostly involved potions on Death eater orders, she still enjoyed making those she knew wouldn't be caused for harm.

The necklace she wore at the wedding, was around her neck everyday – she didn't know why, but wearing it made her feel somewhat happy, as though it had been a dear belonging to her in a past life.

She would of course take it off at night, before she went to sleep, but it was as though every time she did that, her memory became fuzzy – she knew she had been in a relationship with a man for almost two years, but already in September she found herself wondering who he was, and why they had broken up which sort of made her depressed, but then every time she put it on again, she felt happy the moment she put it on – as though the necklace had just been given to her, and the feeling never stopped, she could never get tired of feeling happy when she put it on.

When she read in the news paper, that Snape had been made headmaster at Hogwarts, she felt the hatred literally filling her entire body – the thoughts of what he had done to George was too much to handle, if he had _killed_ George – she would probably have gone to kill Snape for herself.

She made contact with her family once or twice a week – she had to act normal, after all, and it would seem suspicious if she stopped owling them. They were alright, and it seemed the ministry had bought the spattergroit story they had made about Ron, as they hadn't been there to see him, since after the wedding.

She could see that they checked through her mail – though were they really expecting that she would talk about Harry in her letters to her parents? If so they were really more stupid than she had first thought.

But taking into account that the death eaters had asked her co-workers, if she had mentioned anything about Harry to them, they really weren't that bright.

By October, the leaves had changed colours, and the weather became colder – it didn't stop her persistence at the hospital though, people came in with more regular things, like colds, and the flu.

Fall also brought another change for Charlotte – during a potion accident, half of her hair became damaged, and instead of trying to fix it, she just cut it off – her hair reached just to her shoulders. She actually liked it – she didn't have to use so much time in the shower anymore.

One of the death eaters actually complimented the look on her – though she wasn't exactly impressed by him, and felt like throwing him into the wall, but she didn't – she remained in control of herself, though she realized she had a lot of suppressed anger inside of her.

One day, in November, on her birthday none the less, she'd had enough of the death eaters that kept following her around – it made it difficult for her to work, and actually help patients.

She stormed up to Simmons's office, knocking on the door until Simmons let her in. The death eaters followed her, but she shut the door in their faces.

"I can't work like this!" She said right away. "I can't work with them following me around, and scrutinizing my every step!"

"I know" Simmons said, taking off her glasses, she folded her hands neatly on the desk. "But I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it – my hands are tied in the matter"

"But you must be able to do something! I can't work under these conditions – they're a literally ruining my work, and that _is_ meant literally. Yesterday one of them tried to see if he could tell what potion I had just made, by sticking his finger down into the phial – the potion was an acidy solution, _I_ had to patch the death eater up, not to mention one of them ruined the batch of potions I made the day before yesterday"

Charlotte let out a frustrated groan, and ran a hand through her hair.

"I know – I have had others come in to complain as well" Simmons replied. "But my hands are tied – I am not in charge anymore, I'm merely a puppet" She added earnestly.

"Isn't there something – can't you make a policy that death eaters are to be at least 5 feet away from us healers? Or just something like that?"

"I am sorry Charlotte, but I can't do anything. We will just have to get used to it" Simmons put her glasses back on, peering at Charlotte over them. "And do try not to insult them again – the smarter ones of them _do_ know what a nitwit is"

Charlotte sighed, and walked out of her office. The death eaters were waiting for her outside the door.

"Where are we off to now?" one of the asked. Charlotte glared at him.

"Is it impossible for me to have a moment alone?"

"It pretty much is" the other grinned. Charlotte grimaced, and strode past them, towards the patient area – she would need a whole lot of sleep when she got home later.

But she didn't nearly get that far – already when she had gotten halfway, she heard her name being called, and turned around to see Lucius Malfoy smirking at her. She groaned inwardly.

"What do you want now?" She asked as he moved closer to her.

"You know what I want – unfortunately, that is not what I am here to collect" he almost sounded disappointed.

"Then, pray tell, why are you here?"

"I am here on official business – I have after all posted quite a bit of money into this place, so I have to see that it's running properly" he smirked at her. "And to congratulate you on your birthday, what are you now, 24? 25?"

"26" She sneered "– and that is the worst excuse I have heard in a long time, you know, I'd almost rather have that you brought me into the dark lord, or whatever you chose to call him, because being followed by all of his death eaters everyday is really stressing me out" She complained to him, and turned on her heel to continue walking.

"Well we have to make sure everyone is behaving according to the law – we can't very well have you heal mudbloods in here" He commented. She didn't reply, she just wanted to get rid of him.

She walked down into the potions lab, where she finally did get rid of him, because of the dangers that outsiders could be infected with something while in the experimental department, where Russell was working on another potion. He didn't look happy.

"I am looking forward to the day, when this stops" he said, as he poured the liquidly solution into a phial.

"I was just thinking the same thing" Charlotte sighed, and sat down at her desk. "What're you making?" she asked him.

"A simple pick me upper – they are not using my full potential" he sneered, and Charlotte thought it best to just leave him be, it wouldn't do well if she upset any of them.

When she finally did get home later that night, she found something she was sure hadn't been there before – it was a small box wrapped in white gift wrappings, with silver ribbon around it. It was standing on the middle of the living room table.

She sat down on the sofa, looking at the gift. There was a card with it. She took out her wand, and made the card fall off. She laid down her wand on table, and examined the card.

The writing was curly and written as though it was on a perfect invisible line. It read

"To Charlotte, happy 26th birthday" and nothing more – not who it was from, or how they had placed the gift in her flat to begin with.

She picked up the small box, and began to unwrap it. Underneath the wrappings, there was a jewelry case, and as she opened it, she saw it was an armband – exactly like her necklace, it was silver, and with a bronze eagle as the pendant

She gently took it out, and looked at it from every angle. She had no idea who the gift might be from, but she reckoned it had something to do with why she felt as though she had been experiencing memory loss.

It came to her like a flashback –

_She was sitting in the burrow, with her family around her. Harry was there as well. It was Christmas morning, and they were all wearing their Weasley sweaters. She'd just gotten a gift that had no signature on it, but she smiled as she opened the gift, and inside found a jewelry case. She carefully opened it, as the others around her watched in anticipation. It was the necklace – silver chain with a bronze eagle. _

"_Wow – who's that from?" Ginny asked with a big grin. _

"_Someone I hold very dear" Charlotte answered quietly, while putting the necklace around her neck. _

She snapped out of the memory, which she had apparently forgotten all about, and turned the armband in her hand. So it was from someone she knew – someone she cared about. But who?

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own anything from the Potterverse.<br>Hope you like it!


	33. Chapter 33

The memory of how she got her necklace kept haunting her – she wanted to find out who had given it to her, and why she felt as though she had forgotten about someone important to her – like a family member, or even a lover. But that would be ridiculous – why would she forget something like that?

She would have to talk to someone about that – possibly someone from the 4th floor.

But as she still had death eaters tailing her, she couldn't quite go about telling everyone she thought she might have lost parts of her memory – and who was to say that she even had done that, it could just be a weird coincidence. But she didn't believe in coincidences.

In December the snow fell early, just like the year before. It wasn't typical for the English weather, but taking everything into consideration, there wasn't anything typical about the times they lived in.

She didn't get home to celebrate Christmas with her family, instead she celebrated it with the staff at the hospital – they had a small banquet every year at Christmas for the healers who couldn't make it home to their families. There weren't many present, and given that people all had been working, none of them were formal dressed.

But it was almost like being with family – she knew these people quite well, and if she could choose someone besides her family to spend Christmas with, it was the staff of St. Mungos.

They had just finished eating, when Charlotte saw her chance to talk with one of the healers from the 4th floor – if anyone knew something about memory loss, it was them.

The healer was sitting in the sofa by the fireplace, staring into the fire mesmerized.

Charlotte excused herself from the table, and walked over to sit in the sofa across from him.

He didn't turn his head to her; instead he just kept looking into the fire.

He was an aging wizard, 56 years old, with brown/grayish hair. He wore glasses, and was quite short, compared to the fact he was a male – he was probably around the same height as Charlotte, and she wasn't very tall to begin with. He'd been at the hospital since he finished his healing education, and knew the hospital better than anyone.

"Sir" Charlotte began. He turned his head to her, and looked her over.

"Miss Weasley – or is it Mrs. Now?" He asked. There was no trace of humour on his face, and he was dead serious in his question.

"It's only Miss – I'm not planning on getting married in a long time" She smiled at him. He didn't smile back; instead he just looked at her contemplating.

"Quite unusual for a Weasley" he muttered and turned his head.

"Sir, I actually wanted to ask you about something" Charlotte said, ignoring what he'd just said. He didn't turn his face to look at her, but she could tell that she had his full attention. "It's about memory loss, say hypothetically, someone was to lose their memory about certain parts of their life, how would that work?"

Without thinking about it, she reached her hand up and touched her necklace.

"It depends, Miss Weasley, on how you think you have lost your memory – it can be done many ways, after all" he turned his head to look at her, taking off his glasses while doing so.

A smile traced her lips "Well, that's the thing I don't know how it could have happened – it could be anything, a bump to the head, a backfired spell, anything really"

"Well" he said, shifting in his seat so he was sitting directly across from her. He folded his hands behind his head. "Then we just have to search for it"

They walked up to the 4th floor, where he had his office. He wanted to try something with her, something that might help her remember, what might have happened, or just come remotely closer to it.

He pulled two chairs over across from each other, and motioned for her to sit down.

"So" he said, after sitting down across from her. He leant forward, and folded his hands in his lap. "Let's start at the beginning – where do you remember most from, and where are these holes?"

"Uh well, I'm not sure of where they begin, but there are times where I feel lost – confused" she looked down into the floor, trying to recall the times where it had happened. He motioned for her to continue.

"Ever since July, I've been having these strange feelings, and thoughts – just at my brother's wedding, I picked out this necklace" she gently touched the eagle "But I don't know who I've gotten it from"

"The necklace" he began "Does it evoke any emotions in you – any emotions of any kind?"

"Yes – it does. Every time I pick it up, it's as though I've just gotten it – I begin to smile, and can't help but feeling happy and that feeling never cease to stop, it's every time I pick it up"

"Curious" he commented, but motioned for her to continue.

"There has also been some other things – like on my birthday, I got home and saw a gift on the table for me. It was an armband – just like this necklace; Silver chain, and a bronze eagle pendant. I haven't worn it yet, as I don't know who it's from. But something weird happened when I touched it – it was like a flashback, a memory" She stared at the floor deep in thought.

"And what was this memory about?"

"It was Christmas, and I was sitting with my family, unwrapping presents – and when I opened this one gift, this necklace was inside, and in the flashback I knew who it was from, but I don't remember it now"

He was silent for a moment, which caused her to look up at him. He appeared to be deep in thought, looking at her with a calculating look.

"It would seem to me, that whatever you have been forgetting, is bound to have something to do with that necklace" he finally said, turning his gaze to her neck. "What does it feel like when you take it off? Does it make you feel like you have lost a weight on your shoulders?"

"No – quite the contrary" She said "When I take it off, it feels like I'm lost with no direction to get back, I just get sad, and all I want to do is curl up in my bed and – well it's like my own personal dementor is there when I take it off"

"Curious" He said, and leaned back against the sofa. "If the necklace was made to make you forget something, it would make you feel free whenever you take it off – in other words, it would give you a sense of everything being okay"

"But it does the opposite – I feel okay when I have this on" She sighed. "It's just when I take it off –"she trailed off, staring at the wall behind him, and sighed out again.

"When you take it off – what?" he urged.

"I feel like I'm forgetting someone – someone who meant a great deal to me" She looked back at him, her eyebrows creased. "But why would I forget someone like that?"

"There are many answers to that – the question is, which one is the right one?" he questioned, more to himself than to her. "Now tell me something more – have there been more episodes where you have felt like remembering something?"

"No – not exactly" she said, before remembering how she had acted toward Sirius at the wedding. "I did treat someone I see as a brother like crap though – I was ready to blast him away from me, if I had to"

"And how long have you known this person?"

"For two and a half years"

"Can it be that this person is somehow connected to your memory loss?" He asked her. She shook her head – Sirius wouldn't make her forget anything, he'd experienced being around dementors, so he should know how it feels forgetting things in his life.

"No – though I got a strange feeling around him, I almost felt angry with him" She shook her head and looked back up at him. "Can that have anything to do with it?"

"It might have" he answered. "Though I can't be sure – are you certain, that you can't remember when these black holes are starting?"

She sighed, and thought about it a second time. Maybe it all started around November, or December the year she was an apprentice at Hogwarts – but that couldn't possibly make sense.

Though the more she thought about it, the more she seemed to remember that year in more of a blur instead of fully. She didn't remember attending the Yule ball at all, though Ginny had told her at the wedding her hair was exactly like that at the Yule ball.

"Around December 1994 I think – it seems most fuzzy there" she said.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes – yes, around December 1994. That's where it's getting fuzzy in my memory" She said with a nod.

"Good – then we have something to start with" he said, and looked at her with a thoughtful look. "Before we do any of this, I want to ask you, if you are certain you want to remember it all again – some people suppress things because something bad has happened to them, it can be the death of a loved one, or even a self protection mechanism"

"Yes – but if that was the case, then I wouldn't have this need to remember it" Charlotte said with a small smile "I know what I want – and I just want my memories back"

"Good" He said "let's see what we can do without you taking any potions yet, shall we?"

She nodded, and he asked her to go through everything she remembered from December 1994. She told him that she remembered spending Christmas with her parents and her brothers – except those who were at Christmas. She can't remember returning to Hogwarts for the Yule ball, but Ginny said she had seen her there. She had been asked to go to Australia to visit her long lost friend Kyle, but if she actually went there, she couldn't remember either.

He asked her if there was anything from her apprentice sessions that she could remember, but they seemed to be in a blur as well – she only knew what potions she had created, and nothing else.

She then remembered leaving Hogwarts, and returning to the hospital, and meeting Emily. She also faintly remembered having feelings for a man – but she couldn't remember who the man was, or how she'd met him.

They had been talking for nearly an hour, when he told her it would be best if she spoke to Russell about a memory potion – that would evidently be the only thing that might help her regain her memory, as he said, she had not lost it, it had just merely been pushed deep down in her conscious, and that was why she could faintly remember stuff, however fussy they may have seen.

So the next day, after sending a letter saying merry Christmas to her family, she walked down into the lab, as she usually did accompanied by some death eaters – luckily they weren't allowed into the lab where Russell and her were, otherwise she probably never would find out what she had been forgetting.

She spoke with Russell, and he mentioned the potion he created in the summer, but since that potion hadn't been used it had gone bad. He could create another one for her, but it would take two months, as it had to rest over two full moons.

She thanked him many times, but he waved her away dismissively, saying he'd rather help her than help the death eaters.

So she waited, very impatiently, during those two months. The death eaters had no idea of what they were doing, but the death eaters that kept watch outside the lab wasn't the brightest either.

But on February 12th the potion had finished.

Charlotte almost couldn't wait before drinking it – Russell had done it so it would work from October 1994, courtesy of Charlotte, as she still wasn't quite sure when her memory loss had begun.

"Now remember – the potion may not have immediate effect, but it will work gradually over time" Russell said, before he gave her a phial containing some of the potion. "And there might be some side effects – I haven't tested it yet"

"That's very comforting" Charlotte smirked, but she was set on drinking it. She took in a deep breath, before lifting the phial to her mouth, and poured the liquid substance into her mouth.

When she put down the phial she looked at Russell "Did anything happen?" he asked her. She shook her head, almost disappointedly. "It will – it will work" He said, mostly to reassure himself of it, rather than her.

"I hope so" charlotte said, and was about to walk out of the glass door when she saw her reflection in the door – her eyes momentarily turned white – completely white.

And it was as though everything she had been looking for came back – everything.

"Oh Merlin" She felt herself get dizzy, before she fell towards the ground.

"Hey, hey Charlotte" Russell's voice called to her. She opened her eyes – she was still lying on the ground, looking up into Russell's grey eyes. She sat up straight away – she could not let him get away with it.

"It worked – now excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be" She said, and rose to her feet. Russell was about to yell something after her, when she stormed out, grabbed her travel cloak, and didn't care about the death eaters who were following her.

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><p>Disclaimer - I do not own anything from the Potterverse, J.K Rowling does.<br>- Wow, thanks for all the feedback - i can't believe that i'm close to 70 reviews, and 20k hits - Thanks you guys! I hope you like this chapter :3


	34. Chapter 34

She disapparated to the gates of Hogwarts – and though she knew the gates would be locked, and guarded, she didn't care – she was pissed.

"Oi – you can't get through here" one of the death eaters said, but she didn't listen to him.

"Let me in" she warned, looking at him through the gate. One of the death eaters grinned at her.

"'ey, isn't that the Weasley girl?" He asked his mate.

"Yeah, I think it is – what do yeh want here, bloodtraitor?"

"I want you to let me in" She said in a low calm voice. She could feel the anger rise in her; spreading to her every bone.

"Now, yeh see, I can't very well do that" He grinned – she could see he had lost some teeth, and most of the others were rotten or yellowed. "Now unless yeh want to come in an' play with us" he licked himself around the mouth, eyeing her from top to toe.

She didn't know what happened, or how she had done it, but she felt herself become so angry, she waved her hand at the gate, and it blast open, making the death eaters fly away from the gate. They looked up at her scared, as she walked right past them, narrowing her eyes at them. "Try to stop me, and there won't be anything left of you" She said in a deadly voice.

With big steps, she strode up toward the castle, her eyes narrowed the whole time. When she entered the castle, she walked past McGonagall who looked at her stunned.

"Miss Weasley – you shouldn't be here!" She exclaimed, but Charlotte walked right past her, and toward the office that belonged to the headmaster – that belonged to him.

She came to a stop in front of the Gargoyle, McGonagall running up behind her.

"What is the password?" She asked unkindly.

"I – Charlotte, what are you doing here?" She asked her, but Charlotte didn't listen. She figured that since she'd gotten the gate up, she could get the gargoyle to open up as well.

She waved her hand at the Gargoyle, and at first it wouldn't budge, but when she did it again with a frustrated groan, it jumped aside, revealing the spiraling staircase.

"Don't follow me" She said darkly as she walked over to the staircase, and saw as the Gargoyle jumped into its place again.

When she came up to the office, the door was closed and locked. She opened it the same way she had with the gargoyle and the gate – except this was a bit more violent, as the door literally blasted into the office, leaving the office with no door attached.

"What in the world – "She heard him say, before she stepped in. He was standing up behind the desk that belonged to Dumbledore, looking at her mesmerized. "Charlotte –"He breathed.

"What's the matter – did you really think your little spell could make me forget everything?" She asked angrily, and narrowed her eyes on him. She slowly walked over to stand in front of the desk, looked at him menacingly.

"Did you really think that I could just forget?" She asked again darkly. He narrowed his eyes at her, and pointed his wand to the door. The door flew back into its place, and Charlotte heard the sound of the lock.

"You were not supposed to find out" he said turning his back to her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"No really?" She said sarcastically. "Because I thought it was all a scheme to make me forget some of the most fantastic things in my life, only to have me remember it again!" She yelled at him, her palms flat on the desk as she looked up at him.

"I did it to protect you – you have no idea – "He started and turned around to her.

"No!" She interrupted him. "You have no idea what _I_ have gone through! I haven't even seen my family since my brother's wedding! Do you have any idea of how worried I am that something might happen to them, that they might be killed by death eaters any day!"

"Which is exactly why I did it" He said through gritted teeth. "You obviously have no idea of how much your family would have been in danger, if I had not done it"

"_I _could have kept them safe!" She shouted at him and straightened her back up and turned her back on him. "You said in the memory that you didn't want to be the ruler of my life. I told you afterwards that I wanted to change sides with you – that I was willing to do that!"

"Which is exactly why I had all the more reason to erase your memory – obviously I didn't do that very well"

She turned around and glared at him "You think!"

He sat down on the chair behind the desk, rubbing his temples. "How did you manage to remember?" He asked.

She glared at him, but took off her travel cloak, and pointed to the necklace. "You should have taken that away from me, if you wanted me to forget completely" she sneered.

"I knew I'd forgotten something" he said to himself.

"_Forgotten_" She said breathing a laugh, though she wasn't amused at all – she wouldn't be amused in a long time. "Until you forget three and a half years of your life, you can't come here and tell me you've forgotten something!" She hissed at him, and began pacing in the office.

"Charlotte –"he began, but she turned to him and raised a finger at him.

"No, you let me finish! I have gone through hell and back again – literally, I've been followed around by death eaters, I haven't seen my family, and I have no idea if my little brother is safe or dead!" She narrowed her eyes of him "Speaking of brothers – why did you feel the need to blast off my brother's ear!" She asked in an alarmingly quiet tone. It was like she was a ticking time bomb.

"Ah yes – that unfortunate event" he muttered, rubbing his temples again.

"UNFORTUNATE? You call blasting off my brother's ear_ unfortunate!"_ She yelled at him. "You know, I wonder why I still have feelings for you – you've made the past half year of my life a living hell" she said, as she started pacing again.

She hadn't heard or seen that he stood up from the chair and walked towards her, until he was snaking his arms around her waist, trying to make her stand still.

"Don't – stop – don't touch me!" She hissed as she tried to break free, but he held her in place until she gave up struggling him.

She felt her eyes weld up, but she refused to let _him_ see her cry. She couldn't stop one or two tears from spilling though, leaving a silver trail on her cheek.

"I didn't mean to cause you so much pain – I only wanted what was best for you at the time" he whispered to her. "And what I thought best for you was to forget everything that we had together, everything that we had shared. I thought I could replace all of your memories of us with memories of another, but obviously that didn't work quite as I wanted it to. I didn't want you to feel pain about what I did"

"But I did" she said, stifling a sob. "I had never been angrier with you, than when I heard that you were the one who killed Dumbledore, and next when I heard it was you who blast off Georgie's ear" She said with a quiet shaky voice.

"I tried to protect your brother – honestly"

"You say that, but why should I believe you?" another tear fell from her eye, and she stifled a sob.

"I was aiming at a death eater – he was trying to kill your brother and Lupin" He turned her around, so she could look at him. She looked up into his eyes, and knew he was telling the truth – she didn't know how, but she just sort of knew. She nodded.

"I believe you" she said quietly after a long pause.

"Thank you" He breathed out relieved, and closed his eyes.

*SMACK*

She'd swung her hand back, and planted a flat slap across his cheek – he didn't get off that easily. The whole room seemed to be even quieter than it had been before, and the slap almost seemed to echo throughout the room.

"You still deserved that" she added darkly and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I did deserve that" he said, gently rubbing his hand up and down his cheek, tending to it. She crossed her arms, and turned away from him.

She looked around in the room, and noticed the portraits of the former headmasters and headmistresses hanging on the wall. Some of them looked confused, some outraged, and some seemed to cheer her on. She threw them a scolding looks.

"There's nothing to see here, people!" She sneered at them, and they busily returned to what they had done before they snooped in on what the two people, who actually still were alive, were doing.

She turned around to look at Severus again – his cheek was red from where her hand had hit him.

"You promise me, that you will _never_ try to remove my memory again or I will be out of your life permanently" she said raising a shaky finger at him. "That also implies to hurting my family again"

"I promise that I will never intentionally or unintentionally hurt you or your family again – though I might have to throw in an exception" he said, looking down at her.

"What do you mean?" She crossed her arms narrowing her eyes at him.

"I can't let you go, now that you are here" He said.

"Of course you can" she huffed.

"No" he stated. "The death eaters saw you enter the castle, and I am trying to maintain a role, a role where I am loyal to the dark lord. That means that since you are a Weasley, and in their eyes a bloodtraitor, I can chose to either turn you into the dark lord, or keep you as my prisoner here"

"As your prisoner? Well what the hell do you think my family will think about that?" She asked outraged.

"There will be made a cover story about you – one that will be believable. Your family might not believe it, but they will be safe if they believe it – I might be able to persuade the dark lord into letting you send a letter to them, but you mustn't tell anything, other than you are alright, and they should worry of themselves"

"I can't do that – and how do I know that I won't be turned in to you-know-who?"

"You have my word on it – I won't let anything happen to you"

She contemplated it for a moment – if she tried to escape, her family would be the first ones to be tortured to find out of her whereabouts. She had to stay there.

"Fine – fine" she said with a sigh. "Do whatever you must do – as long as I know my family is safe, it won't matter what happens to me"

He eyed her for a moment before walking over to her, and taking her into his arms. She stood motionless against him, and though she did love being in his arms, she just couldn't deal with him right away.

He gently lifted her head up to look him in the eyes. "You are safe here"

"If you say so" she breathed.

"There are a few things, you have to have in mind" he said "You are not allowed to talk with anyone besides me, you are not allowed to wander about in the halls, and least of all you are not allowed to go outside, understand?" He spoke with a calm voice.

"Yes, I guess" she sighed.

"Good" he stepped away from her, clearly sensing she wasn't in the mood for a loving reunion. "Now tell me, how did you manage to get inside the gates?"

"I was angry" she replied, walking around in the office, looking at the objects that were still there – Dumbledore's objects. "Pissed, furious – hurt" she said, and turned to him. She cradled herself in her arms. "There is truth in the say that hell hath no fury like a scorned witch, you know"

"Yes I can see that – I don't believe this door has ever left its hinges" He was obviously trying to make her smile, but she stared at him with a neutral face. She simply wasn't in the mood.

"While I am gone, you mustn't leave this office" he said, taking his travelling cloak and putting it around him. "Just behave yourself" he added.

"That's really rich coming from you" She said with narrowed eyes. "Unfortunately, I know I have to do what you say"

"Never would I have thought the day would when you would be saying that" he smirked.

"Just continue on with doing what you were about to do" She replied slightly annoyed. She turned her back on him, and heard as the door smacked after him. 

Once out of the office, Severus could finally take in a deep steadying breath. Why hadn't he expected this would happen? He should have known.  
>But he had to put that away for now – he had to face the dark lord, before the death eaters of the school did. He began walking with hasty steps through the castle halls, hoping not to come across anyone. Sadly, that wish was not fulfilled.<p>

"Snape!" Came an angry voice behind him. He stopped up with a grimace. Why did it have to be Minerva McGonagall?  
>He regained his posture and turned around slowly. "It's headmaster to you, Minerva" He narrowed his eyes at her, having to maintain his role as a death eater – not to mention he didn't really like her.<br>Likewise, she narrowed her eyes at him. "I saw that Miss Weasley walked into the castle" she started.  
>"That is none of your business" Severus replied immediately. She closed the distance between them, and stared at him threateningly.<br>"If you as much as touch her, I assure you, I will do anything in my power, to make sure you will pay for what you have done"  
>"What I do with her, is up to me" He said dangerously calm. "She came to my school – I didn't summon her. She should have known that I wouldn't let a Weasley go <em>that<em> easily"  
>"I have warned you, Snape" McGonagall said, and spun on her heels. "This is Albus Dumbledore's school – it'll never be yours" She said, as she walked away.<br>Severus let out a frustrated groan, as soon as he was out of the castle. He really hated that woman sometimes.  
>The Death eaters were still standing at the gates, and as one of them were about to open their mouth, he merely put a hand up, silencing them. He didn't want to hear anything from them at the moment.<br>He apparated the moment he was outside the gates, and he reappeared outside the gates of Malfoy manor.

He raised his arm up, making the gate vanish momentarily, and walked inside, hearing the faint click of the gate locking itself again.

Once inside, he knew where to go – it had some advantages being in the dark lord's inner circle, a fact he couldn't deny.

He entered the room with his head bowed down. He could see the Malfoys were there as well, along with some of the other death eaters – Bellatrix, and Rodolphus were some of them.  
>"Severus" Came a cold voice. A chair spun around, and showed the Dark lord sitting with Nagini around his neck. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" He didn't sound like it was a pleasure – more like the contrary.<p>

"My lord, I have news of one of the Weasleys" Severus said, bowing down completely, before looking up at him again.

"The Weasleys?" The dark lord said, and a smirk formed on his lips.

"Charlotte Weasley, my lord. She came to my school, apparently because she was unsatisfied with the way Alecto and Amycus have been treating her sister" He sounding mocking – just like he had to. He even faked a smirk.  
>Around in the room, some of the death eaters were chuckling – they found bravery extremely amusing.<br>"Charlotte Weasley, you say?" The dark lord turned to the malfoys "Lucius – were you not the one who was supposed to watch her every move, as a request by yourself?"  
>"Yes, my lord – I was not alone in that task, Rabastan have been watching her as well, and this week has been his turn" Lucius croaked – Severus understood why. He almost felt sorry for the man – Almost.<p>

"Rabastan, you say – Is he at the Hospital now?" Severus supposed Lucius nodded, as he didn't turn around to see.  
>"Very well – he will get his punishment when he arrives, a surprise, as it is" The dark lord smirked, and looked towards the place where Bellatrix stood.<br>"My lord" Severus spoke again. The dark lord turned to him. "I have a suggestion about what to do with the woman" he said.  
>"Do you, now?"<br>"Yes – I will have her as my prisoner at Hogwarts, making sure she won't do anything that might help the rebellion"  
>"And what makes you think that she won't escape?"<br>"She won't – I will have her locked inside one of the rooms in the dungeon" He kept his head low.

"My lord" Came Lucius's voice, and Severus could hear that Lucius neared them. "I have another suggestion"  
>"And what might that be?" The dark lord sneered.<br>"She could stay here – in the dungeon. She won't have any contact to anyone, and I will personally keep an eye on her" Lucius said silkily. Severus didn't like the suggestive tones in his voice – he knew that Lucius had a soft spot for the red haired witch, but this red headed witch, belonged to Severus.  
>"And why would I grant you her, Lucius? You have failed me in the past – I will not have you fail me again"<br>"My lord – I assure you; I will not fail you, should she come here and be imprisoned. She would be my personal prisoner" again the suggestive smirk.  
>"Curious, how you want her so badly, Lucius" The dark lord said, and smirked. "You have not fallen for the blood traitor, have you?"<br>"No, my lord – It would merely be for torturing her, into telling me the whereabouts about Potter" Lucius looked down. Severus almost couldn't take it – if it hadn't been for the fact that the dark lord was there, he would have punched Lucius so hard, that he would have a black eye for months.  
>"My lord" Severus spoke "No one would guess that she would be imprisoned at Hogwarts – they would think it the least likely place to imprison her. It would be the best place" Severus said, his voice remaining cold. The dark lord fixed his eyes at him, and Severus instantly felt a tugging on his walls. He let the dark lord in, showing him false memories. When he was done with Severus, he did the same with Lucius.<br>"The Weasley girl stays at Hogwarts – Lucius, my slippery friend, since your wife does not excite you anymore, you will have the next prisoner" The dark lord smirked. He turned back to Severus. "Dismissed"  
>Severus nodded, and turned on his heels, wanting to leave as fast as possible.<p>

Charlotte sighed – she didn't want to be so harsh with him, but she couldn't help herself – he'd made her forget important things of her life, he'd made her forget about him. That couldn't easily be forgotten, at least she wasn't about to forget anything some time soon.

She looked around in the office, letting her arms fall to her sides. Behind the desk, a portrait of Dumbledore hung, a Dumbledore who pretended to be asleep.

"I know you aren't sleeping – I'm a healer, not stupid" She said, looking up at him. He opened his eyes, and looked at her.

"Buggerish" he said – very unlike him to use that kind of word. "What gave me away?"

She shrugged "If you truly were asleep, you wouldn't be opening your eye every now and then to spy on me"

"Yes, I have been known to be rather curious" He smiled down at her. "So, I take it that Severus has told you why he had to kill me"

"Yes – he did that the day before he erased my memory" She replied spitefully.

"Ah don't be angry with him – it was I who ordered him to do it"

"Yes, I know that as well" She muttered, and walked around in the office again. She turned to him "Were you not at all concerned about what people are thinking of him now? Even McGonagall hates him with all of her guts"

"Yes, that was a rather risky part of my plan – but so far it has only helped him get better into the role as a death eater" Dumbledore said, folding his hands neatly on his robes.

"Can I ask you something?" She said after a moment of silence.

"Yes I believe you can" He smiled at her.

"Why did you tell him to go to me, when you in the end would just break us apart?" She asked calmly.

"In the beginning I simply wanted Severus to be happy for once in his life" he sighed "But then I became stupid – I put on a ring I shouldn't have put on, and that made my time run out. You didn't fit into any of my plans, as you are a Weasley and if there is anything Weasleys hold dear, it's each other. It was unfortunate and rather unlike me, to break up love"

"Yeah, because that was exactly it – you are a very loud speaker of love, and it just doesn't make sense that you wouldn't allow him to be happy" Charlotte frowned.

"Severus should be happy – but his life will be in danger if he does not do what the dark lord thinks he should do" He looked down at her thoughtfully. "I had hoped you would remember, just that it would be a bit later than this"

She didn't know if she should feel angry with him, or feel sorry for him that he had to put Severus through it.

"Didn't go well with your plans?" Charlotte smirked up at him.

"Not quite – though I am sure Severus will handle it properly"

"Yeah, I'm sure he will" Charlotte said bemused. She walked away from his portrait, and over to the bookshelves. She spent most of the time picking out one book after another, skimming them – she hadn't realized there would be that kinds of books at Hogwarts, least of all in the headmasters office.

Severus first returned around two hours later, and by that time, Charlotte had flung herself in the sofa, reading several of the books.

Severus left the school fairly quickly. He had figured out what to tell the dark lord, but

She was still mad at him, and therefore did not go down to say Hello when the door to the office opened.

He slowly walked up the three steps, and looked at her as she was lying in the sofa, reading a book.

"I have taken care of everything – you have been permitted to write a small letter to your parents, other than that, you are to stay with me here at Hogwarts" he said and walked around so she could look at him. She closed the book, and sat up in the sofa.

"I should be happier about that – well the part of being with you at least" she sighed, and put the book down on the table next to the sofa. She looked up at him. He didn't look exactly happy that she felt that way – for the first time, she could actually see he was somewhat hurt.

She patted the seat next to her, motioning for him to sit down. He hesitated and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Oh, I'm not going to slap you again" She said hastily, with a crease of her brows. "Just sit down" She said to him. He reluctantly sat down next to her and eyed her suspiciously.

"Look – I've already told you, I still love you" She began "And that won't change – otherwise I wouldn't be here, then I would be home with my parents, sharing all my 'new' information with them, instead of coming here to slap you"

"So your cold attitude towards me" he began slowly "Is merely a show of self defense?"

"Not quite" She smiled at him – he really didn't know how to read people, well unless he jumped into their minds "I just need to get used to all this – it's as though I've been a whole other person for the last 7 months – I _have_ been a whole other person for the last 7 months" she said and took his hand in hers.

"And that is my fault – I am surprised you are still here" He said earnestly. She shrugged.

"Maybe it's because I know I can trust you" She gave him a small smile. He put his hand on the back of her head, and was about to lean in to her. But she put a hand on his chest, smiling at him.

"I still need time – two days ago, I hated you as much as I hate you-know-who"

"You have finally stopped using his name then" he said, not pulling back from her. He stared into her eyes, and she into his. She rubbed her thumb against his hand, practically feeling herself melt while looking into his eyes.

"Oh screw it" She said, and swung her leg over him, and kissed him like she hadn't kissed him before.


	35. Chapter 35

Spring came, and so did the bird singing – which she couldn't enjoy because she was still stuck inside the castle. She'd tried convincing Severus she could go outside with an invisibility charm on herself, but he wouldn't budge – he would never budge.

So all she could do was sit in one of the rooms with the window open and listen to the birds that way. The school was as good as empty around Easter – every student had gone home for the Easter, as none of them really wanted to be there. Charlotte understood them. From what she could tell, the death eaters who functioned as teachers in the school were pretty rough on them.

Severus was called more and more to Voldemort – he wanted updates, on how the imprisonment of Charlotte was going, and if she was being difficult.

She would never take for granted going outside again – never.

She did find something worthwhile doing once or twice inside Severus's quarters – and it didn't involve lying in the bed with him.

No, it most certainly did involve _him_, but it would happen in the wee hours of the day, when she couldn't go back to sleep after making up from a nightmare – a nightmare involving a snake. In the dream it would bare its fangs at Severus, hissing awfully while doing so, before biting down into his neck, making blood flood from the two rupture wounds. The scene would then change, and she saw him lying in a hospital bed, crying over him.

She always believed that he was dead in the last dream; there couldn't be any other explanation. So to get her thoughts off that dream, she would get out of bed, after tossing around trying to fall asleep for an hour and a half, grinning mischievously, and pointing her wand down to the floor, conjuring a bucket with ice cold water inside it. She then put away her wand, and hoisted up the bucket, knowing Severus would soon have to wake up, she felt childish, and threw the bucket of ice cold water at him.

He threatened her with revenge the time she did it, but she knew he would never do anything like that to her – it just wasn't his style.

She also often found herself wondering what her family was doing – what they were thinking, talking about, if they were scared, or tried to lead normal lives.

But by the end of the Easter break, the students returned and so did Severus with the news that Ginny hadn't returned to Hogwarts. Charlotte instantly asked him if he knew what had happened to her, but as far as he knew, she hadn't been taken by any of the death eaters – but as the rest of her family had disappeared he reckoned she was with them.

She didn't like it – not knowing what was going on with them.

But as the month went on, Severus kept reminding her, that if anything were to happen, if she would suddenly be "rescued" by McGonagall or anyone else, she should play the part where she is his prisoner. She thought this would be easy enough, as she was getting tired of him saying that she couldn't look out of the window, or even sit in the window.

In the past weeks of April, Charlotte had been ill – she would wake up with a head ache, she wasn't hungry, she threw up all the time, and she just felt plain weak. Severus tended to her, of course, but nothing helped. He was at the point of blowing off his cover, just to get to her to the hospital wing, but Charlotte didn't want him to do that – she told him she was fine, and it probably just was the flu catching on late. He didn't believe her however, but as she was reluctant to let him take her to the hospital wing – and since Voldemort called Severus to him more often, there wasn't anything he could do.

On the first day of May, she decided to check on something she had been wondering could be the cause of it. She almost scanned her body with her wand, getting the results – she was overwhelmed when she found out what it was, she didn't know how to react. But she quickly forgot all about it, as she suddenly heard a big commotion outside, with people running up and down the hall – she almost wanted to peak out and tell them to be quiet.

But then the door, literally, blew open, and McGonagall stood with her wand out, pointed to the door. Smoke filled the room, and Charlotte coughed slightly.

"McGonagall" She said surprised, and rose from the sofa. McGonagall walked in, and gave her a tight hug.

"Don't worry – you're free now" She said with a bright smile. "Harry Potter is here" She almost squealed, which made Charlotte kind of scared of her. But she had to act her part, like Severus had said – speaking of which –

"Where is Snape?" She asked with as much hatred as she could muster.

"He's resigned" McGonagall said brightly.

McGonagall took Charlotte by the arm – well almost, and dragged her up to the great hall, where her family already was sitting at the Gryffindor table. When her mum saw her, she stood up and almost ran over to her, hugging her tightly – so tightly she almost couldn't breathe.

Charlotte patted her on the back "I'm alright mum, I'm fine" She said in a reassuring voice.

"Oh Charlotte" Her mum said and pulled away to look at her "We thought the worst – we thought – "

"I'm okay – I'm not hurt" She smiled at her mum. Her mum removed a lock of hair from Charlotte's face, and tucked it behind her ear. She blinked a few times, her eyes teary, before they walked over to the rest of her family, each of the greeting her with hugs.

She looked over and saw Sirius and Juno sitting with each other, Remus next to them. Sirius beamed at her, as she walked over and gave the three of them big hugs.

"You have no idea of how worried we've been" Juno said quietly to her, as she sat down, with Juno on one side, and her dad on the other. Her dad had a protective hand on her shoulder, possibly so that he knew she was there. "When we heard what had happened, that Snape had captured you, it took us all of our willpower not to come and try to rescue you"

"I swear I'll kill Snape when I get the chance" Sirius hissed in a quiet voice. She wanted to tell them the truth, but she couldn't – whatever Severus needed to do, he hadn't done it yet.

Remus looked at her with a calculating look, which meant she wasn't looking as though she wanted to kill Severus. Instead she turned to him

"How's tonks?" She asked with a small smile – she hadn't heard or seen her friend in almost a year.

Remus beamed "She's great – she and teddy is with her mum"

Charlotte frowned. "Teddy?" a picture of a teddy bear came into her mind, but Tonks didn't seem like the type of person to carry a teddy bear around.

"Oh – that's right!" Remus said, and fiddled with something in one of his pockets. He pulled out a small picture and gave it to her. "Dora and I have a son – he's one month old"

Charlotte looked at the picture of a small boy – he only appeared to be a few weeks old. His hair was turning from green to pink, to black and turquoise.

Charlotte beamed at the picture and gave it back to Remus "He looks wonderful" She smiled at him.

"He is" Remus glanced at the picture, before it disappeared down into his pocket. "You're the godmother" He beamed at her when he looked up again. Charlotte blinked at him a few times.

"I'm what?" She asked quietly.

"You're the godmother – Harry's the godfather and we know you and harry will never be together, but we both wanted the two of you to be there for Teddy" Remus explained, and Charlotte heard a huff from Sirius. Charlotte looked at Remus bewildered – it was a big honour, but they trusted a child with her?

"Why didn't you choose Sirius and Juno?" She asked looking at Sirius.

"We couldn't agree on them – naturally they were considered, but Dora thought Sirius might have a bad influence on Teddy" Remus answered carefully, and Sirius huffed again. Charlotte forced a smile though.

"It would be an honour" she replied to him, and the fake smile disappeared into a real smile – it wasn't as though she would become a mum to somebody else's child overnight. Remus beamed at her.

McGonagall started talking, as the last of the heads of houses had returned with their students. She explained that no one under the age of 17 was permitted to stay – the Slytherin house was to leave, when a message from Voldemort said they should turn Harry over, or they would pay for it.

Charlotte didn't really listen – she was more concerned of where Severus was.

It was first when the students started leaving the hall that she snapped out of it. Her father was standing, and looked down at her.

"Are you coming, sweetheart?" He smiled at her. She didn't know where they were going. "Into the grounds – we have to organize ourselves"

"Right – yes" She said and stood up.

She walked outside along with her dad, Kingsley and Remus, not to mention a group of 17 year old students. Charlotte noticed the blonde haired girl she had been talking with at the wedding – Luna.

Looking around, she saw that the students were just children – just teenagers who shouldn't be thinking of the best way to keep themselves alive, they should be thinking of what clothes they wore, what career they wanted, boys, girls – the opposite gender. It wasn't right that they were about to fight for their lives.

But she didn't have time to think about that – a group of death eaters neared in the distance.

The fight begun suddenly – she didn't even see who shot the first spell.

She tried to protect the children as much as possible – but it seemed, she thought as Luna just shielded off a spell meant for Charlotte, they could protect themselves.

Charlotte grinned at Luna, before sending a Death eater hurling back towards the ground.

She looked up at Kingsley who was fighting next to her – she sent his death eater hurling away too "Kingsley, are we allowed to kill?" She asked him.

"Yes!" He yelled back, as he warded off a purple light.

There were so many death eaters – she didn't know why in the world they would want to join Voldemort.

She didn't know how much time had gone by, but as she was hurled back against the castle, she saw Harry, Ron and Hermione run out from the castle. Ron looked more upset than she had ever seen him.

Her curiosity made her follow them from a distance – she could see they were headed towards the whomping willow.

Dementors came up in front of them, and she was about to raise her wand, when Luna and two boys came up behind the trio, and created patronesses – they were better than she thought.

Harry, Ron and Hermione managed to create patronusses, and the dementors drew back. The trio continued running toward the whomping willow, and somehow Charlotte knew she should follow them.

She just saw them disappear down into a hole, before she ran down the hill, jumping over any stones or branches that were in her way – she almost fell over one of the branches of the whomping willow.

But she just managed to get down into the hole, before it closed.

She was in a dark tunnel – there was no light anywhere. But she didn't dare light the tunnel up – she had no idea where it would lead.

She kept walking, and in the end stopped at a small stair, leading up to a door. Some light cracked through, and she knew it was there the trio had to be.

She slowly walked up the stairs, and opened the door to peek through. She could see Voldemort in the distance, talking with someone – Severus. She was about to go in, and stop him from doing whatever he was doing, when she was held back by something invisible. She was pulled back; someone held a hand over her mouth. She could see out of the corner of her eyes that Severus was looking desperate. But then Voldemort spoke in parseltongue – snake language, and Voldemort's snake, embodied in a glassy cage, pulled the cage over Severus, and bit down into Severus's neck.

Charlotte tried to scream against the hand that was held over her mouth, but she couldn't – he couldn't move either, it was like she was being held back by two people. She felt tears well up in her eyes, as she saw Severus glide down onto the floor, blood pouring out of the holes in his neck, and Voldemort stood there, and just looked at him. He said something Charlotte couldn't hear, before he disapparated.

Whatever had been holding her back, let go of her, and she rushed over to Severus's side.  
>"No, no" She cried, taking his hand in hers. Tears fell from her eyes, and onto his chest. He wasn't looking at her – instead he was looking toward the place where she had just come from.<p>

"Charlotte" it was Ron's voice. She turned her head to where his voice came from, and saw the trio standing there – Hermione had tears, possibly from fright, in her eyes.

Harry walked over to Severus, as blood, tears, and some silvery stuff leaked out from his eyes, ears, and tears.

"Take it… take it…" He said to harry with a raspy voice. Hermione conjured a phial to harry, and harry, apparently knowing what to do, made the silver stuff flow down into the phial. He locked his eyes with Harry's.

"Go – get back to the castle" Charlotte said in a rushed voice. Ron was about to protest, but she looked at him. "GO!" She yelled. Harry got up onto his feet, and as they retreated, Charlotte held a tight grip on Severus, and disapparated with him – he needed help fast.

She reappeared in the hospital – it was nearly empty. She summoned a blood replenisher the moment she touched ground, and poured it down into his mouth. She knew she would need more help.

"Help!" She yelled out, hoping someone would hear her. "Help! Anyone!" She yelled, as tears fell from her eyes. She looked down, and saw he was becoming more and more pale.

"Damnit!" She said and lifted her wand up, and pointed at the wound – she knew it wouldn't help, but she had to try. She muttered different incantations, and spells – they only worked for a few moments before the wound opened up again, oozing out with blood.

She saw a woman she knew to be a desk clerk come towards them "Get Simmons!" She yelled to her. The woman stopped up, and looked like she didn't know what to do.

"NOW!" Charlotte yelled at her. The woman turned around, and started running toward Simmons's office. Charlotte looked down at Severus – his eyes were focused on her, though they were hazy. "Come on – don't die on me now" She said, as she summoned another blood replenisher, and poured it into his mouth.

A little colour returned to him, but it didn't last more than 20 seconds – he was simply bleeding too much.

"Damnit, Sev, you're not going to die on my watch!" She said, and tried healing up the wounds again. She sighed out relieved when she heard footsteps running towards her. Simmons was at her side.  
>"What happened – Charlotte is this Severus Snape?" She asked as she looked down at him.<p>

"Don't mind that – help me!" Charlotte hissed. Simmons nodded, and pulled out her wand. She knew more about this kind of thing than Charlotte did, and they, eventually after Simmons had tried everything and finally tried an experimental spell she had only used once, that they stabilized him. They got him into a room – it didn't matter which room it was, and laid him down on one of the empty beds.

"He was bitten by Nagini" Charlotte said "Voldemort's snake"

Simmons gasped. "You can't say that name – charlotte they'll come here" But charlotte shook her head.

"There's a battle going on at Hogwarts – they need all the healers you can send them. It was there it happened" She glanced down at Severus – his eyes were closed, and he was taking in deep raspy breaths.

Simmons nodded. "I'll get some together"

"You can apparate straight into the grand hall – every shield is down" Simmons nodded and was about to turn away from charlotte. "Rebecca" Charlotte said, and Simmons turned around. "Tell my family to listen to Harry – and tell them I'm safe" She nodded, and walked out of the room along with the desk clerk.

Charlotte turned back to Severus, and took her hand into his. He had bandages around his neck, and though they had managed to stabilize him, two small red dots appeared on the white fabric.

This was exactly like the time with her father – she remembered she had the anti dote to the poison, but he needed to be awake for it to work, and he needed to have rested before she could apply it.

She was scared for her family, for everyone who was at Hogwarts in that moment, but she couldn't leave him. He'd done so much good for all of them, he didn't deserve to die – and if her father could survive being bitten in the neck by that snake, then damnit so could Severus!

She sat by his side for what seemed like the whole night, before he came around in the morning. The sun was rising over the city, and sun rays touched in through the window. She must have fallen asleep with her head lying on his chest, for she opened her eyes when she felt a hand go through her hair.

She looked into his eyes, and he had a small smile on his face. "You're awake" She stated instantly sitting up, and looking at his bandages – he needed to have it changed. He was about to open his mouth, but she put a finger to his lips.

"Don't try to speak – you still have a hole in your neck" She said to him. "I have to go find some bandages- it's locked away, and can't be summoned" She grimaced. "But I'll be back when I have it" he kissed her fingers in response; she looked at him, before she got up from the chair, and walked out into the hallway. The hospital was empty – deserted. There was no trace of death eaters anywhere, and no healers were walking around in the halls. She wondered if they still were fighting at Hogwarts.

She walked into the room, where a cabinet was locked off. She opened the cabinet with her wand, and found the bandages. She also summoned the antidote from her locker in the labs.

When she walked back, Severus, the stubborn man he was, was trying to sit up in the bed.

"Don't move – do you have some sort of death wish!" she said walking into the room and over to him again. "Lay still" She said as she pointed her wand to the bloody bandages on his neck. The bandages disappeared and two holes were still leaking out blood. She would have to give him another replenisher right after the antidote. She thought of the people at Hogwarts again, and decided to tap some of the poison out of him. A greenish substance appeared in a phial she had summoned. She made the phial with the poison disappear again, knowing it would be down in her locker.

"This is going to sting" She said and opened the cork of the antidote. She gently poured it into the wound, and saw as he hissed out. When there was nothing left of the anti dote, she awaited its effect. It wasn't as quick as it had with her dad, but after a few minutes, the wound healed up, leaving two round scars. She applied the bandages around his neck, and made the bloody one disappear. "You can speak now" She said with a smile, while taking his hand with hers.

"You shouldn't have saved me" He said with a strained voice and arched his back. "Potter –"

"Hopefully knows everything now – he got the memories before I took you here" She assured him, looking into his eyes – he was weak, but recovering.

"Hogwarts – "

"I sent all the healers there – they are in safe hands" she said, and took her hand over and removed some hair from his face. She smiled down at him. "You need to stop worrying about others and start worrying about yourself"  
>"But –"<p>

"No" She interrupted him firmly. "No buts – you've been bitten by a snake, and not just any snake, by Voldemort's snake"

"You _are_ insufferable" He muttered grumpily. She breathed out a laugh.  
>"Did you ever have any doubts?" She gently squeezed his hand. "You need some more rest"<p>

"That seems to be your answer to everything" He muttered, closing his eyes. She chuckled, and watched as his breathing became heavy, and she knew he had fallen asleep again. 

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><p>Disclaimer - I do not own the Potterverse or anything in it.<br>- AU; So the story is coming to an end. There should probably be two or three chapters more after this one, but the last two chapters will be published at the same time :) Thank you to everyone who's reviewed :D


	36. Chapter 36

It wasn't long before Charlotte heard footsteps out on the hallway, and she went out to investigate. People were coming in from every direction, walking people into the rooms, and tending to wounded or badly injured.

She tried to find someone who could explain, when she bumped into McGonagall

"Charlotte" She exclaimed surprised, before bending down and pulling her in for tight hug. "Oh I'm so sorry" She said, and pulled back. Charlotte looked at her confused.

"What happened?" She asked, turning her head to follow a boy who had an open wound in his head.

"Voldemort is dead – Harry defeated him" She said proudly with a tear running down her eyes. Charlotte had to repeat it inside her head, before she beamed at her.

"That's great! That's wonderful – fantastic!"

"Yes – " McGonagall started looking sad.

"But there's something that isn't as fantastic" Bill said behind McGonagall. McGonagall went out of the way, looking at Charlotte while she did.

"Before you explain, William" She said to bill, before turning back to Charlotte "Charlotte, where is Severus – don't be afraid, we already know – Harry told us everything" She smiled sadly. Charlotte pointed to the room where Severus was lying in.

"Don't let anyone else come in there – he needs rest" Charlotte said, as McGonagall walked towards the room. She turned back to Bill with crossed arms.  
>"What's wrong, what happened?" She asked – she could see he had been crying, fleur as well. Fleur tried to stifle a sob, but failed.<p>

"Many people died – "he started, but then their dad came into view, carrying a gurney along with Charlie. Charlotte didn't have to turn her head much, before she knew it was Fred who was on the gurney.

"Oh no" She breathed, and walked over to them. "No, no" She repeated, as she looked down at him. She didn't know what to do – or if she could have prevented it. Tears fell from her eyes – she hadn't even noticed that her eyes had welled up to begin with. She turned back to bill, as her dad and Charlie carried Fred's body into a room.

"Who did this!" She asked angrily.

"Rockwood – Percy killed him" Bill said. Charlotte couldn't believe it – had she really missed out on so much, just in a few hours.

"Charlotte" She heard Percy breathe behind her. She turned around, and Percy pulled her in for a hug. He cried silently along with her, as more members of their family came around them, hugging them tightly as well.

It didn't make it any better when she found out that both Remus and Tonks were dead as well – Tonks had left their son with Tonks's mother, and gone to Hogwarts to fight.

She had to take all of the information in – she wanted to be alone.

She walked down into the lab – it looked closed to abandoned. She was down there for a few hours; until Simmons came down and told her Severus was awake again.

Charlotte took in a deep breath, and told her she would be up in a moment. She wiped her eyes, though she knew they would be red, and tried to get her act together.

The halls were full of both joy and sadness – joy that Voldemort finally was gone and they had won the battle, but sadness because they had lost a loved one.

She passed the room where Fred was in and stopped up looking at them – her family was in there, standing around his bed. George was crying on their mum's shoulder.

She lingered there for a moment, before walking past the room, and into Severus's. They had managed to keep other patients out of the room. She closed the door after her, and walked in, her hands were in the pockets of her jeans.

He was sitting up, looking at her as she entered. She walked over and sat down on the chair she had pulled over earlier. She struggled not to cry again.

"I heard what happened" He said to her, and took his hand in hers. A tear escaped her eye.

"At least Voldemort's gone" She said sadly, and tried to stifle a sob. She could tell that he didn't know what to do, but he moved over in the bed, and patted the space next to him, motioning for her to sit down next to him. She didn't have the will power to resist, so she stood from the chair, and swung her legs up into the bed. He laid arm around her, as she leaned her head against his chest, and cried silently. Not just for Fred, or Remus and Tonks, but for all of their losses. She'd seen them drag in bodies of teenagers, and children. They didn't deserve to die, not like that.

Harry came into the room a few hours later – she hadn't seen him in the hospital before that, and though she hadn't given it a second thought, she wondered if he had spent the time at Hogwarts instead.  
>Severus almost jolted up in the bed, sneering at the boy while doing so. But Charlotte scowled at Severus, and told him to lie down again, no matter his feelings for the boy.<p>

Harry merely wanted to say he was sorry – sorry that he had ever doubted Severus, sorry he had acted the way he had towards him, sorry because of everything that had happened, and he wanted them to start fresh. Severus didn't. But Harry merely laughed at him, saying he couldn't shatter the new found respect he had for Severus now, and Severus was allowed to hate Harry, but the feeling wouldn't be mutual.

When Harry left, Charlotte smirked at Severus, and he instantly told her to wipe that smirk off her face.

In the next couple of days, Charlotte tried to deal with the pain of losing her brother, all the while she tried to stop journalists and photographers to enter Severus's room at the hospital – they had all heard the story of how, if it had not been for Severus, Harry wouldn't have killed Voldemort, so now they wanted the story first.

It was so bad that on the fourth day, when Charlotte had went home to change clothes, _she_ was attacked with questions, and photographers who wanted to know what was going on between her and Severus – they all wanted the exclusive story.

Unfortunately Charlotte had her own to deal with; She still hadn't told Severus about the pregnancy, as she was always interrupted by either healers, or reporters, coming in and out of the room he was lying in, not to mention that she feared his reaction – he wasn't known to love children, let alone caring for them – she'd seen how he had protected Harry, but he still loathed Harry with all his guts.

"Get out of my way" She hissed at them, as she tried to almost swim through the flock of people.

"Healer Weasley – what is your relationship with Professor Snape?" They asked, as she pushed her way through, and finally got to the door, and slammed it shut, locking it with magic, before going over to Severus, who was sitting up in the bed. She sighed out frustrated.

"Are the vultures still out there?" He asked annoyed. She handed him some clothes – he had been moaning about the hospital clothes, saying it wasn't comfortable.

"Yeah" She said exasperated and sat down on the chair. "I swear to Merlin, if they don't go away soon, I will make sure they will never get an exclusive"

Severus smirked at her, as he took off the hospital shirt. "You are really charming when you're angry"

She scowled at him "Oh, be quiet" she crossed her legs and leaned back against the wall.

"When do the trials against the death eaters start?" He asked, putting his arm through his own black shirt.

"In a month – Kingsley has asked me if I could get you to testify against them, but I told him you weren't interested" She smirked.

"And what if I am interested?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're not – you don't have time to be interested" she said, rising her own eyebrows at him "When you're in a good enough state to leave the hospital, which will be around tomorrow, we are going to Australia"

"Will we now" he said with a serious face "Are you sure you are not trying to escape reality?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your brother is dead – you shouldn't even be sitting here, you should be home with your family"

She sighed, and looked down into the floor – she had been avoiding that part since they left the hospital. Fred's funeral would be three days from now, but she couldn't face that reality. She couldn't handle that her little brother was dead. "Not to mention" he continued "We have already promised to attend the funeral at Hogwarts – your family needs you"

She jerked her head up at him, and sighed. "I know – but it's just hard"

"I know it is" he walked down from the bed, and put his arms around her, gently kissing her forehead. "I am here to help you" She was about to open her mouth, but he shushed her "You have helped me, now it is my turn to help you – I won't accept a no" he bent down, and looked directly into her eyes. "You can't get rid of me now"

"I don't want to get rid of you" She said, smiling at him sadly. He had just leaned into kiss her, when the door opened, and Charlotte was about to point her wand over his back, when she saw it was just Simmons. Severus pulled away from her, and turned to look at Simmons.

"We have to end this nightmare out there" Simmons began. "Professor Snape, I can't force you to do anything you don't want to do but – "

"I will go talk with them" He interrupted her. Charlotte looked at him surprised. "They will not rest until they have their interview, meaning they will follow us everywhere we go – I will just change clothes, and then I will be right out" He said to Simmons.

"Good – just remember you are the one who are in control, not them" She smiled him. "I'll leave you to it" She walked out of the room again, and Charlotte could just hear her telling the journalists to calm down, and wait till Severus got out there.

Severus turned to Charlotte before she could say anything. "There is something I would like to do first though" He said, and bent down to stand on one knee. He took her hand, and looked up into her eyes.

"Charlotte – I am not good with emotions, and feelings. I therefore beg of you not to be disappointed in the way I ask you this" He took out his wand, and summoned a ring – a silver ring with a green diamond in the middle, surrounded by two smaller gems on either side of it – the gems were a light blue. "Charlotte Cedrella Weasley, Will you be my wife?" He asked.

Charlotte had been astonished straight from the moment he had gone down on one knee. She didn't know what to say – well she did, but she didn't know how to get the words out – with everything that had been going on, she had not seen this coming.

"Yes" She answered astounded, as a tear rolled down her cheek. He smiled up at her, and glided the ring onto her finger, before standing up and crushed his lips against hers. When he pulled away, she looked at him, still astonished. "Are you sure that poison didn't get to your head?" She asked with a laugh. He smirked at her – there was the Severus she knew.

"I am quite positive it did" He answered before she pulled him in for a tender kiss. She pulled away from him, and looked him in the eyes. She didn't know how to tell him, but knew she would eventually have to tell him.

"I'm pregnant" It just burst out of her, and she held her hands up in front of her mouth straight after she had told him. She looked at him – he appeared not to be moving, thinking – he wasn't even blinking.

"You're what?" He asked after a few minutes. She took in a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant – I found out yesterday" She repeated. She hadn't expected that he would suddenly be smiling at her, and pulled her in for another kiss. When he pulled back, she was just as astonished as she had been moments before. "You're smiling" She stated.

"Yes I am – I know I said I never wanted any children"

"Yeah, you did say that" She smirked. "So what changed?"

"I was bitten in the neck by a snake" he said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Alright – I didn't think you would be okay with it, actually" She admitted with a relieved sigh.

"Why would I not – you are the mother after all" He frowned "Just as long as you don't act like your own mother, I don't think I could stand living with someone as over protective as her"

Charlotte smirked at him and flung her arms around his neck. "Well – I saw some pretty damn cool teenagers at Hogwarts a few days ago, and as far as I know their mother's weren't overprotective with them – one of them doesn't even have her mum anymore. So don't worry – I won't be over protective"

He smirked back at her. "Good"

When he had finished changing into his own clothes, they walked out, hand in hand, and faced the journalists. Simmons had told them to not shout at the same time, and whenever they wanted to ask a question they should raise their hands.

They only answered their questions for 10 minutes, before they continue walking toward the exit. Charlotte and Severus had some things to take care of – like helping with a big funeral at Hogwarts.

Everyone who had died at Hogwarts had been named heroes. They would be buried alongside Dumbledore, and would remain at Hogwarts forever.

The funeral was a beautiful but also very sad thing – there were over hundreds of people there, and many people held speeches.

George hadn't forgiven Severus for blasting his ear off – which was quite understandable, but he only scowled at Severus instead of insulting him with something.

The rest of the Weasley family tried to be nice to him, they tried to support Charlotte in her decision – apparently they had gotten their memory of her telling them they were together, back as well.

But Charlotte didn't want to focus on that – she wanted to focus on giving Fred, Remus, Tonks and all the others a proper funeral

The reception was held at Hogwarts as well – it had already been build up again, though the last time she'd seen it, Hogwarts was in ruins.

She didn't tell them about the pregnancy – she thought there were better things to take care of.

A month later, the trials against the death eaters started, going first with Lucius Malfoy. Severus had, again, been asked if he wanted to testify against him, but he had refused – he didn't want anything to do with death eaters anymore.

They had told her family, and evidently those at Hogwarts – McGonagall always apologized to Severus about how, if she had known she wouldn't have been to mad, and mean with him, but Severus waved her off dismissively every time, saying if he wanted to hear people apologize to him, he would read about it in the prophet, but they had told everyone about their engagement, though they didn't know when they would get married, and at the same time they had told of her pregnancy – that they by February would have a child together.

And after all that – after they had told them everything, and her mum had congratulated them with the words that she couldn't wait to become a grandmother, Charlotte and Severus took off, for some well needed vacation. They didn't tell anyone about where they were going, but Charlotte would give them hints, sending a postcard to them every time they entered a new country.

They first returned home at the end of August, where Severus turned down McGonagall's offer to come back and teach – he'd had quite enough of dunderheads, not to mention he had a life to live now.

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><p>Disclaimer - I do not own the Potterverse. Two chapters remaining, my dear readers. I'm thrilled that you've all been enjoying this story, and the reviews make me as happy as a child on Christmas eve ( I celebrate Christmas eve, and not Christmas day) Thank you all!<p> 


	37. Chapter 37

In the weeks up to her due date, Charlotte already knew that she would be having a boy – she reckoned that Trelawney had spoken about her dreams with the children at the train station when she said she had to save Severus to get that dream to come true, so it came as a big surprise to her, and Severus, when she on February 4th gave birth to twins – a boy and a girl. She hadn't been to any of those silly check up's as she was a healer, she knew what was going on – or apparently she didn't.

The boy was named Castiel Frederick Snape and the girl Cassandra Dora Snape.

The dream Charlotte had in the past, was however, a little correct – they both had black hair, and the same eyes as Severus had, and Castiel did look remarkably a lot like Severus, while Cassandra looked more like a Weasley – taken her black hair and dark brown eyes into consideration.

They became husband and wife later that year – more exact on May 2nd, the day it had been a year since the defeat of Voldemort.

Juno, Ginny and Fleur were Charlotte's bridesmaids, and Severus had asked, and chosen – quite surprisingly, Kingsley as his best man. It wasn't because they had become close or anything, but Severus kind of liked him – in an 'I don't hate you' kind of way.

The twins were sitting with George and Percy, and though they only were very interested in what was going on with their mummy and daddy.

For Charlotte time seemed to pass by way too fast – a year after the twins had been born, Severus was promoted to Chief of the potions department at the hospital, and Charlotte had been promoted to the chief of the spell damage department.

The twins started walking when they were a year old, and already just three months later, they were beginning to talk – George had almost made it his own little mission to make them talk fluently by the time they were two years old.

In 2002 January 14th Charlotte and Severus had their 3rd child – a boy whom they named Michael Severus Snape. Unlike his brother and sister, he had red hair and the same brown eyes as Severus had.

He started walking around the age of one as well, but unlike his brother and sister he was a quiet child – he preferred playing with himself instead of other children – no matter what they tried, he would much rather sit by himself instead of playing with the others.

It worried Charlotte, as the twins were very sociable. But Severus assured her it was perfectly normal – especially considering that he was Severus's son.

Charlotte did however experience one of her dreams coming true – the dream she'd had while staying at Grimmauld place all those years ago came true in august 2005. They had teddy staying over for a couple of weeks – they couldn't separate the twins from Teddy, so Charlotte had asked Andromeda if Teddy could stay with them for a few weeks.

Charlotte had taken them to a park in the muggle neighborhood – yes, many of the other muggle parents looked at Teddy with odd glances, but just like it had been in the dream, Cassie had fallen down from the swing, and scratched her knee. She came crying over to Charlotte, but she reassured her that her knee would heal right up.

Unlike the dream, Severus came walking into the park with Michael in tow – Michael was three years old, and he found the tree's very fascinating.

They didn't think they would have more children after that – by that time Severus was 42 years old, and Charlotte 31 years old – in their opinion they had enough trouble with keeping the twins in line, as it turned out they were just like their Uncle's once had been – troublemaking rascals.

But they did have one more child – the pregnancy came as a surprise for both of them, as they had already decided they wouldn't have more children. But apparently destiny wanted to go its own ways, so in 2006 July 11th a small girl was brought into the family, now adding up to six people. The girl had red hair and bright blue eyes – she almost looked like a true copy of Charlotte. They named her Lila Charlotte Snape.

Being married and having children with a Weasley could sometimes be difficult – especially around Christmas when the whole Weasley family was together – one year he frightened Hugo, Ron and Hermione's son, so much that Hugo ran out to Hermione, bawling his eyes out, saying Uncle Severus scared him.

Hermione had scolded him, saying he should act like the adult he was instead of acting like their old grouchy Professor. Needless to say, Severus didn't listen to her, and though he never got used to being in the Weasley family, he enjoyed scaring the little rascals – especially Harry's son James.

Sirius and Juno were married for 5 years – from August 2000 to November 2005, but eventually split up – they did however have two children together – Regulus Remus Black and Amelia Jamie Black.

Regulus was born in 2000, on November 10th – He and Michael were good friends, and Regulus was sorted into Slytherin two years before Michael was sorted into Slytherin as well – Severus had never been more proud. It had come as a blow to him when the twins had been sorted into Gryffindor – though he still loved them, and Charlotte assured him that no matter how much he could have done, they were like the Weasley part of the family.

It did give him some joy when he found out Regulus had been sorted into Slytherin, and Sirius had felt that was a blow as well – they never did put their differences aside, and even years after the war had ended and their children were friends, they still loathed each other. 

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><p>Disclaimer - i don't own anything from the potterverse.<p> 


	38. Chapter 38

It was September 1st 2017, and though it was normally quiet in the house, at least in the mornings, it was never quiet on a September 1st.

Every September 1st started out the same – in the bed room, but unfortunately not in the way Charlotte may have wanted it.

The first year the twins were going to Hogwarts, they woke Charlotte and Severus up by jumping into their bed, and setting off some alarm George had given them, and ever since it had been the same. Except this year, it was Lila's first year and the twins weren't going back to Hogwarts that year – they had graduated before the summer vacation and were now working with George in the Weasley wizard wheezes.

They were still living at home, and they upheld the tradition of waking Charlotte and Severus in the morning – this year a bit more loudly.

Charlotte woke up with a start, as she heard loud orchestral music beginning to play. She sat up in the bed, and saw the twins had magically charmed a whole orchestra to play in their bedroom. They peaked their heads in through the door.

"Castiel and Cassandra if you do not stop this infernal noise, you will be out of this house before you can say 'joke shop'" Severus said in a dangerously tone, as he still was lying with his head on the pillow. Charlotte scowled at them, as they grinned at each other, and with a wave or their wands, made the orchestra disappear. They walked into the room, and sat down by the foot of the bed. Charlotte looked at them grumpily.

"Why do you insist on doing that every god damn year?" She asked them with a tired voice. Cassandra shrugged with a grin.

"Because it's fun" She began.

"To see and hear your reactions" Castiel continued – another trait where they were just like Fred and George.

"Yeah, I bet you find that funny" Charlotte said grumpily. She blinked a few times to make her eyes used to the sun rays that poured in through the window. "What time is it?" She asked them.

"Around seven – but we thought it could be fun to wake up early" Castiel grinned.

"Do you also think it fun, to have your father angry with you?" Severus asked, still lying with his head against the pillow.

"Oh dad" Cassandra began "You might be able to inspire fear – "

"And despair -" Castiel added

"In every other teenager or child out there -"

"But not in us" Castiel grinned wickedly. Severus picked up his pillow and threw it at the twins, hitting Castiel squarely in the head. "Alright, we can take a hint" he grinned.

"Want us to go wake up Michael and Lila?" Cassandra asked Charlotte.

"Yes – but properly, don't do anything funny" Charlotte warned them, and saw them retreat out of the door. Charlotte leaned back down, and kissed Severus on the cheek.

"I can't believe I have two trouble makers as them for children" Severus muttered. Charlotte chuckled.  
>"Well, they do have Fred and George's genes in them as well – Besides I know you are more proud of them than you give them credit for" She smirked at him. He rolled around, and looked up into his eyes – his hair was shorter and graying and he definitely had a few more wrinkles than he used to, but in Charlotte's eyes, he was still the perfect man.<p>

"I do" He replied with a smirk. Charlotte chuckled and leaned down to kiss him. He took a hand up and put it on the back of her head, pulling her closer to him.

"Do you guys have to do that?" A voice came from the doorway. Charlotte looked up, and saw Michael standing there – his shoulder length red hair was curly in every direction, he had a book in his hands – 5th level transfiguration. He had probably also already read it by now.

"Yes" Came Severus's answer, as they both sat up in the bed again. "We do"

"It's gross" Michael said, and left them alone again. Charlotte looked at Severus.

"I don't think so" She said with a smirk.

"Neither do I - but then again we are not young anymore, just take a look at my hair"

"I like your hair" She replied, and ran a hand through it. He gently took her hand, and kissed the palm of it.

"I am not young anymore – I turn 60 in three years" he said with a grimace.

"Which is still young by wizard standards – just look at Nicholas Flamel, he lived for over 600 years" Charlotte grinned.

"I am not planning on living _that_ long" In that moment they heard a crash coming from downstairs, followed by Cassandra's voice.

"Everything's okay!"

Charlotte turned to Severus "We better get up before she set's the house on fire – again"

When they had gotten dressed and went downstairs, Cassandra had tried to cook breakfast for all of them with Castiel's help, but they weren't exactly chefs. There was smoke in the kitchen, and Charlotte coughed, trying to wave away the smoke as they entered.

"Cassandra, go to sit down – I'll take care of this" Charlotte said, and Cassandra merely smiled at her, and walked over to sit down at the table. Charlotte got the food under control, as Severus removed the smoke.

Within five minutes there was food on the table – you learn a few things when you have four hungry children around the table.

She sat down at the table next to Severus, and took some food onto her own plate. Michael was reading his book at the same time he was eating, while Cassandra and Castiel highly discussed what sorts of products they should recommend to George.

Footsteps were heard coming down from the stairs, and within a few seconds, Lila had entered the kitchen. She sat down next to Severus, and he leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Are you excited about going to Hogwarts?" he asked her, as she smiled up at him – she was really her father's daughter.

"Of course I am" She said smiling. "Al, and Rose will be there too"  
>"So will Michael, and James" Charlotte pointed out. Michael looked up from his book at the mentioning of his name, but quickly turned back to it again.<p>

"That's not the same" Lila said with a smile, and took some food onto her plate. Severus turned to smirk at Charlotte – she was daddy's girl.

"Well, it's Victoire's last year at Hogwarts, and you know most of your cousins will be there as well" Charlotte urged her, but Lila just shrugged indifferently.

When the breakfast had ended, and Charlotte had made sure both Michael and Lila had packed, time neared half past 10, meaning they should get going.

The twins couldn't make it – they had to open the shop and get everything ready as George was saying goodbye to his children as well.

Lila took Severus's hand as they walked through the wall to platform three quarters, before Charlotte followed in with Michael – though he was way past the age where he wanted to hold his mother's hand.

When they were on the other side, it was filled with people – parents who were there to say goodbye to their children, children who were about to go to Hogwarts.

Charlotte and Michael walked up next to Severus and Lila – Lila's owl hooted happily in her cage, as they walked over to the train.

Harry and Ginny were already there with their children – Lily was complaining just like Ginny had done when Ginny was in that age – Lily wanted to go to Hogwarts as well, but she wasn't 11 yet.

Harry was sitting on the ground, talking with Albus, so Charlotte thought they'd better go over to Ginny, Ron and Hermione instead.

"Hi Lila" Rose said happily. "It's finally happening – we're going to Hogwarts"

Lila nodded eagerly and dropped Severus's hand to walk over next to her and chat with her cousin.

Charlotte looked around, and by a chance saw Michael about to enter the train. Apparently Severus had seen the same thing.

"Michael" He said, and though his voice was calm, it was very powerful, so Michael stopped dead in his tracks, and turned around to look at them. Several parents who'd had him as a teacher when they were young, still remembered how he had been in the classroom, they shuddered, and silently walked past him.

"What?" He asked exasperated.

"Don't take that tone with me – come over here and say goodbye, we are still your parents after all" Severus said. Michael sighed, and walked over to them, awkwardly hugging Severus goodbye first, before turning to Charlotte. She looked down at him.

"Now Michael, I don't want to hear about you taking some of the libraries books without permission again – you know how Madam Pince is with her books" Charlotte said pointedly, looking into his brown eyes.

"I promise" he answered.

"Good, now give me a hug" Charlotte laid her arms around him. "Have a good year – and behave"

"I always behave" Michael said and rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean" Charlotte smiled at him. He turned around, and walked up into the train again.

She looked at Severus. "He is so like you" She said.

"Don't blame me for that" he smirked, and looked around. Charlotte looked in the same direction as he did, when Draco Malfoy came through the barrier, with his wife and son – Scorpius was it. "I will be right back" Severus said and turned to her "I have to have a word with Draco" She nodded, and saw him walk towards the Malfoy family.

"Charlotte" Came the voice of Juno – she had been standing up further ahead, and Charlotte hadn't seen her at all. The brown haired witch was smiling at her, as she had Amelia and Regulus in tow.

"Juno" Charlotte said with a smile, and hugged her dear friend as she walked over to her. Charlotte looked down at the black haired girl.

"Are ready for your second year at Hogwarts?" She asked her with a smile. Amelia beamed up at her.

"Yeah!" She said enthusiastically, her green eyes were bright with excitement. "Do you know what my dad has given me for my birthday?" She asked excitedly. "A Nimbus 3001! I can't wait to show everyone at school! And it has the Gryffindor colours and everything!"

"Wow – that's impressive" Charlotte smiled at her.

"I know!" Amelia beamed, and skipped off as she saw one of her classmates. Charlotte turned to Juno.

"So where is Sirius?" Charlotte asked, but a voice behind her told her exactly where he was.

"Why, did you miss me?" He asked, coming up in front of her. Charlotte smiled at him, as he pulled her in for a hug. When they pulled back, he and Juno looked at each awkwardly.

"How's it going in the ministry?" Charlotte finally asked. Sirius had been an auror for a few years now, and was one of the best they had.

"Great! Though it's a bit odd to be working alongside my godson" He grinned. "What about you, at the hospital?"

"It's great – there's more and more paperwork though" She grimaced, but breathed out a laugh.

"Ouch – now where is the little Rascal Lila?" He asked looking around after her.

"She's with Al and Rose – somewhere here" Charlotte chuckled.

"I can't believe it's already her first year – and Amelia's second" He almost sounded sad.

"Yeah they grow up too fast" Charlotte said. Sirius turned to Juno, and gave her an awkward smile, before walking past her, to find Regulus.

"It's still awkward, isn't it?" Charlotte asked with a laugh.

"You have no idea" Juno laughed.

Charlotte turned back to Harry who had just straightened up – Al was smiling up at him.

"Is he alright?" She asked Harry, as harry walked over to stand with her.

"He will be" harry smiled proudly. Out of his three children, Albus was the one who looked most like Harry – he had the same unruly hair, and the same green eyes. "What about your husband?" Harry asked slightly amused.

"Well I think he'll be alright too" Charlotte smirked. "He's still not forgiven you for naming Albus after him"

Harry chuckled amused. "He probably never will"

"Oh better go pretend you have something important to do – he's coming this way" Charlotte said amused, as Severus was walking up behind Harry.

"Right" Harry said, and walked over to stand next to Ginny. Charlotte watched as Lila, Rose and Albus talked about owls. She felt a hand on each of her arms, and turned her head to look at Severus.

"They grow up too fast" She muttered.

"They do"

The train whistled, and Lila came over to say goodbye, making them promise they would write to her at least five times a week, before she hugged, first Charlotte, and then Severus goodbye. She walked onto the train with Rose and Albus – Lily was still sobbing next to Ginny, and Hugo was standing with Hermione. They found a compartment almost just in front of them, and opened the window. Michael and James joined them in the compartment, and they waved goodbye as the train started taking off.

None of them left before the train was completely out of sight.

Charlotte turned to look up at Severus "You know, I think I'm beginning to understand why I have so many siblings" Behind her she heard Ginny and Ron laugh.

"We could always work on some more" Severus said with a smirk, which quite shut them up. This time it was Charlotte's turn to laugh. She turned around and watched their horrified expressions – only harry and Hermione thought it slightly amusing.

"Don't worry – I think our mum has quite enough grandchildren already" She said to them, but that wasn't exactly what they looked horrified at - it might be the image of their old Potions Professor in bed with their sister – George had said many times that he didn't need that picture.

When they got home, however, Severus snaked his arms around her, pulling her close to him. "I believe the only good thing about Lila going to Hogwarts, is that we now have the house alone" He said.

"It's almost too quiet, don't you think?" Charlotte wondered.

"We can always make some noise" Severus said suggestively, and pulled away her hair on one side, to kiss her neck. "Besides, the twins still live here, Merlin save us all" he smirked against her neck, she turned her head to him, and looked him in the eyes.

"We're going to be alright" She stated with a smile.

"Did you ever doubt us?" He asked with a smirk, before leaning down and capturing her lips in a kiss.

Everything was well. 

* * *

><p>Disclaimer - I don't own anything from the Potterverse.<p>

So - last two chapters. I hope you have enjoyed this story, as much as I enjoyed playing around with these characters. I want to give you all Huuuuuuuuge thanks for all the awesome reviews - It makes my day everytime I read them :3


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